


Christmas during COVID

by GoodShipSherlollipop



Series: Journey [20]
Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: Christianity, F/M, Family, Married Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper, Mistletoe kissing, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:00:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 23,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28305708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoodShipSherlollipop/pseuds/GoodShipSherlollipop
Summary: Molly Holmes is disappointed that the plans she had made for a lovely family Christmas had to be set aside due to the change in COVID guidelines for Christmas. But she counts her blessings as Christina turns one and Victoria excitedly awaits Father Christmas. Parentlock x 2, Sherlolly (COVID-19 sub-series, part 18) If you are interested in reading what comes before this, look me up on fanfiction.net.  A continuation of my Journey series.
Relationships: Sherlock Holmes & Molly Hooper, Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper
Series: Journey [20]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1470725
Comments: 18
Kudos: 14
Collections: 2020 Twelve Days of Sherlolly





	1. The Birthday Girl

**Author's Note:**

> welcome to my 2020 Christmas story. 
> 
> I have not published anything on this site since my last Christmas story, but I thought I'd post this one in the hopes that someone new might find my Christian take on the characters something appealing, and that they will like it enough to follow me to fanfiction.net to read the rest of my collection.
> 
> If you come to this story out of curiosity, please note that it is part of my COVID-19 series which is posted on fanfiction.net, and this series involves my Journey characters as I've been writing their story and life since 2017. So please don’t flame me with complaints that the characters are OOC - if you read the rest of my works (some of the earlier works are on this site), you will see I have developed my characters for three and a half years. If reading things that includes Christian themes is offensive to you, stop reading right now. If, on the other hand, you are a Christian who has been looking to find something that is more wholesome, read on. I hope and pray at least one person will read this who decides to begin reading my stories on fanfiction.net.
> 
> This has been a little more difficult for me than writing the usual story. In my last installment in the series (on fanfiction.net), Molly was making plans for a lovely family gathering with Sherlock's parents and her mother that would take place on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. So, there I was, having written my lovely Christmas Eve chapters when I heard the UK changed the rules. No more three household Christmas bubble. No more travelling anytime between 23-27th. Nope. One day only, and no travelling outside the local area either.
> 
> So, I have been furiously rewriting, changing significant portions of the story. As a result, I have still not finished the whole story, which will probably be four chapters. But, I do have the first two chapters finished, aside from editing/proofreading, which take place on Christmas Eve, and I hope to get the writing portion finished so I can publish the other 2 at the end of next week.
> 
> I've included some of the latest statistics at the beginning of the story.

Molly opened her eyes and looked over at Sherlock, whose eyes were still closed.

This was supposed to be such a wonderful day. It was Christmas Eve, their daughter Christina's first birthday. Just weeks earlier, she had been happily planning to have Sherlock's parents over for both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, along with her mother.

Unfortunately, just a few days earlier, new restrictions and an elevation to a new tier 4 alert level for London and many surrounding areas had made these happy plans impossible. The new guidelines meant that Sherlock's parents could not travel to London from Sussex. Even Molly's mother was only permitted to spend one day with them, Christmas Day itself. And yesterday, it was announced that more areas of the country would be elevated to tier 4, including Sussex, as of Boxing Day. That meant 24 million people would be at tier 4. This was because of the new variant of the virus which was more infectious, meaning daily cases had continued to increase, with over 39,000 cases, the highest yet, being reported yesterday. The new variant was deemed responsible for three quarters of the newly reported cases. And yet another variant had emerged, which was believed to have originated in South Africa. The only positive aspect was that the vaccine was expected to still be effective, for the most part, against the new variants. 

With these concerns and subsequent guidelines changes, the plans for celebrating Christina's birthday with extended family were scrapped. Preparing a big Christmas Day feast with a full turkey was no longer necessary, so, at Molly's instructions, Sherlock had purchased a turkey crown instead. Molly's mum would be bringing stuffing along tomorrow as her contribution to the meal. She had volunteered to bring a Christmas pudding for dessert as well, now that Sherlock's mother would not be there to provide her own.

Instead of Christina receiving gifts from her grandparents in person, they were delivered to the house. Sherlock's parents had sent both Christmas and birthday gifts, and several packages were now under the Christmas tree, aside from an enormous one labelled with Sherlock and Molly’s name, that was currently beside the tree. Molly's mother had said she would just bring Christinas’s birthday present tomorrow, along with their Christmas gifts. Sherlock was driving to her flat to pick her up, so he could help carry the presents.

When the packages from Sherlock's parents had arrived yesterday, Sherlock called to let them know they had arrived and to thank them.

Xoxoxxoox

_Yesterday_

"Thank you for the gifts, Mummy," Sherlock said, when his mother answered the phone. He had the phone on speaker so Molly could hear his mother. "You didn't need to send anything to us, though. It could have waited until we are able to get together."

  
"Nonsense, Sherlock, I don’t know when that will be," responded his mother. "The presents were already wrapped and waiting. I'm just glad they arrived in time for Christina's birthday and Christmas. Even if we can't be there, at least you know we are thinking about you." She sighed. "This pandemic has been just dreadful. I miss the girls so much. You can't get the right idea on how they are growing with just FaceTime."

  
"We were so looking forward to you getting a special surprise as well," put in Molly, looking over at Victoria and Christina, who were both in the playpen. Martha was snoozing in her usual armchair. "Christina is walking now."

"Oh!" exclaimed her mother-in-law. Her voice became slightly muffled as she spoke away from the phone. "William, Christina is walking, isn't that wonderful?"

"Wonderful," William Holmes, always a man of few words, echoed the sentiment in the background.

"I'm so sorry we won't get to see her walking," Sherlock’s mother said into the phone in a disappointed tone.

"I recorded her first steps and a little bit of her walking, if you want me to send you the clips via Facebook Messenger," offered Molly.

"Oh, yes please. One thing that has kept me going these past few months has been the way you often post pictures of the girls on your Facebook page."

This was something Molly had been doing faithfully for several months, with the specific intention of enabling her mother and inlaws to at least see up-to-date pictures of their granddaughters. "I'm glad I was able to share them. We are so blessed with modern technology," said Molly.

Sherlock spoke again then. "Mummy, how are you and Daddy doing? Mycroft told me last week that he'd arranged an invitation for you and Daddy to have the vaccine at the Brighton and Sussex University Hospital last Friday. Did you go to your appointment?"

Sherlock's mother gave a slight huff of laughter. "Of course we did. Mycroft would have been most upset if we had not done so. Your father and I had the first dose, and we are to return on the seventh of January for the second one."

Molly listened with interest. Sherlock had not informed her of this. She knew there could be some side-effects to the vaccine. Not being one of the front line workers who dealt with infected patients, she was not among the first wave of NHS workers to be vaccinated, but her inlaws, who were both over eighty, were certainly eligible. "How did you tolerate the vaccine?" she asked. "Did you experience any of the side-effects?" 

"Your father-in-law had a little more difficulty than I did. We both had fevers, but his lasted an extra day. Panadol brought it down each time, though. And our arms were a little sore. But I guess the fever is a good sign."

"That's true," said Molly. "It means your bodies are producing the antibodies needed to combat the disease. Are you still experiencing difficulties?"

"Not at all," her mother-in-law assured her. She sighed. "That makes it even more disappointing, because we feel as if we could have safely travelled to London for Christmas."

"Well," said Sherlock, "we shall just have to have a special celebration when we are able to be together again. Perhaps we can plan to be together for Easter instead."

"That would be lovely," his mother said.

"Mummy, we'll FaceTime you on Christmas Day so you can see the girls."

"Thank you, Sherlock. We'll look forward to it," said his mother.

Xoxoxxooxoxoxox

Now, Molly sighed and looked over to the monitor which displayed a sleeping Christina. She couldn’t help feeling wistful that her daughter's first birthday would be such a quiet one, but it couldn’t be helped. Even though it was still early, she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep, so she might as well get up and ready for the day. She still had to make Christina's birthday cake. 

She was about to get out of bed when Sherlock’s voice startled her. "What's wrong, love?" he asked, and she felt his arms come around her from behind. 

"Can't you tell?" she countered, turning in his embrace to look at him.

"Undoubtedly you are disappointed at the disruption of our plans for this Christmas," he said, kissing her forehead tenderly.

"Yes. It just seems that things continue to get worse, despite these lockdowns. I imagine a lot of people out there who've lost loved ones are wondering why God is allowing this to happen."

He stroked her cheek gently. "Molly, my love, the world is full of sin and sinful people. Who are we to question the wisdom of God? Look at the way the world is slipping into moral decline. People are so determined to go their own way, to do what feels good, they've lost sight of what really matters, and that is to show love and compassion for one another, as Jesus did. All we can do is pray that people's hearts will be turned towards God, rather than away. It is Satan causing all this, not God. He loves nothing more than inciting division, especially in the body of believers, trying to make us doubt our faith."

Molly's own hand came up to touch Sherlock’s cheek. "It amazes me how secure you are in your faith, for someone who has been a believer for a relatively short amount of time. I think God has given you an extra measure of wisdom."

He smiled. "Perhaps it is because I've seen so clearly in my life how He has been with me, even before I believed. I know there's a plan for each of us, and I know we can't always see the plan when we are going through situations. I also think we have been particularly blessed to not have lost a close relative to the virus, and I pray that continues."

"I'm glad your parents have had their first dose of the vaccine. That's really kind of a miracle, that it was developed so quickly."

"And we can thank God we possess the technology for scientists to create something so complex in such a short amount of time."

She bent forward to kiss him. "Thanks for making me feel better, honey. I need to keep reminding myself of the silver lining, that our family is okay, that God has protected me at work."

"We’ll get through this, Molly. Next year, this will just be a distant memory."

"I hope so." She brightened then. "Now that I'm quitting breastfeeding, perhaps we'll even have another baby on the way by then."

"So, last night was definitely the final time you put Christina to sleep whilst breastfeeding? You still wish to wean her even without your mother around to rock her to sleep as she had offered? You could wait till tomorrow, when she is here for Christmas."

Molly shook her head decisively. "Nope. I made up my mind that the one year mark was the cut-off, and I'm sticking to it. Either you or Martha can rock Christina to sleep tonight."

He brushed his hand down, along the curve of her breast. "Well, I will not complain about having your breasts to myself again. You know how much I disliked you wearing that maternity bra to bed almost every night."

"I had to, so I wouldn't leak milk everywhere," protested Molly. "Anyway, my milk supply has been so limited recently that I haven't been wearing a bra to bed anymore."

"And I am not complaining." His hand caressed her breast provocatively. He looped his leg over her body to keep her close and kissed her.

Molly had a fairly good idea of what he planned, but a sudden cry from the monitor distracted them both.

Sherlock let out a little huff of annoyance. "Too much talking. I missed my chance for a bit of early morning loving."

Molly giggled and drew away from his embrace. "We were talking for all of five minutes. No way you'd have been finished before Christina woke, so I guess you should be grateful we didn't really get anything started."

Another cry came from the monitor, and Molly scrambled out of bed to put on a dressing gown and tend to the birthday girl.

Fifteen minutes later, Victoria was also awake, and everyone was dressed and ready for the day.

Molly buckled Victoria into her booster seat at the dining table while Sherlock placed Christina in the high chair.

They were sitting down to a breakfast of scrambled eggs when Martha entered the kitchen.

"Martha, there's scrambled eggs in the frying pan for you too," said Molly, raising a spoonful of egg to Christina's mouth.

"Thank you, dear." Martha stopped beside the high chair and bent down to kiss the top of Christina’s head. "Happy birthday, poppet."

"It's Chwisty's birfday," said Victoria, nodding in agreement. "Chwisty is one years old."

Molly suppressed a smile at the way Victoria used the plural. Victoria was becoming quite chatty these days.

Martha kissed the top of Victoria's head. "Yes, she is." She headed towards the cooktop to get her eggs.

At least Martha was with them to commemorate Christina's birthday, thought Molly. 

After breakfast, Sherlock took their daughters into the front room so Molly could bake Christina's birthday cake. She also wanted to get a head start on the Brussels sprouts recipe by cutting and roasting the sprouts. That would make it a little easier when she did the rest of the preparation this evening for the dish.

"Let me help you, Molly," said Martha, and Molly accepted the offer gratefully. Martha cut and seasoned the sprouts while Molly got the cake ready for the oven.

"I'm sorry that Sherlock’s parents and your mother can't be here today," commented Martha as they worked together. "God certainly has a morbid sense of humour in putting us all through this mess."

_How ironic that Sherlock and I were discussing this earlier. It must have been God preparing me for this conversation,_ thought Molly.

"Martha," she said, choosing her next words carefully, "God isn't responsible for the pandemic. The virus originated in China, not from the hand of God. God doesn't play games with people's lives like that. He loves us. We are all God's creation."

She poured the batter into two round cake pans as Martha responded, a little crossly. "Then why is this happening? Can't God just put a stop to all of this? So many people have died from this... this plague!"

Molly thought for a moment before answering. "As I see it, God _is_ intervening, in a way. He has provided scientists with the technology and advancements that have enabled them to isolate the genetic code of the virus and produce a vaccine to combat it years earlier than any has ever been developed before. It's unheard of to have a vaccine available in a matter of months. Usually it takes years of research and clinical trials. To me, that is a small miracle right there."

Martha's stiffened posture relaxed somewhat. "I suppose you are right. I just hate seeing so many people suffering, and I can't stand feeling like at any moment I could get sick and be the next victim."

Molly's lips curved upwards. "I have no doubt if you contracted the virus you would come through it smelling like a rose, Martha. But just think, you are over eighty, so I’m sure it won't be long before you receive an invitation to have the vaccination, and I'm sure that will make you feel more positive."

She put the cake pans into the one oven and set the timer, then reached for the Brussels sprouts, which were ready to go into the second oven as Martha spoke again.

"Molly, once I've had my two vaccinations, I'm going to return to Baker Street. I've imposed upon you long enough."

Molly put the sprouts into the preheated oven and closed the door, set the second oven timer, then looked at the elderly woman. "Martha, it has been no imposition having you here. You've become part of the family even more than you were before, and the girls adore you."

"Nevertheless," Martha's voice was firm, "I need to get back to my home. To be honest, I do enjoy my independence. This COVID thing has made me feel a bit like a prisoner. Going home will give me back a sense of normalcy, and I can't wait to just be able to go shopping whenever and wherever I want. Can you understand that?"

Molly placed a hand on her shoulder. "Of course I understand. Sherlock and I will stand by whatever decisions you make. We just don’t want you to feel as if you need to be in a hurry to leave."

"Thank you, dear. Ideally, I would like to get back to Baker Street by the end of January." Then she gave Molly a sly look. "Besides, I am quite sure you and Sherlock would like to have a nice quiet evening for Valentine's Day next year, and if I am back at Baker Street, I can babysit your daughters to give you a night alone."

Molly couldn't help thinking how lovely it would be to have Sherlock all to herself for a whole evening and night. They hadn't truly been alone like that since before Christina was born. A smile spread over her face as she said, "Well, I must admit, that idea does sound appealing. We'll see what happens."

The women walked to the front room to join Sherlock.

Christina was standing at the coffee table, watching Victoria assemble one of her puzzles. When her little hand reached for a piece and started to raise it to her mouth, Sherlock took the piece away. "No, Christina, that is not food, nor something to chew on."

Sherlock turned to look at Molly. "When should we help Christina open her birthday presents?"

"I think we can wait until after lunch. It will give us something to do this afternoon. Then, tonight we can watch the sermon Pastor Briggs prepared for Christmas Eve, and see how the _Hallelujah Chorus_ turned out." 

"Did you send my parents the link to our church's YouTube account? I know Mummy wants to see that."

Molly nodded. "Yes, I sent a message to her with the link last night and told her it should be available to watch this evening."

The morning passed. The cake pans were taken out of the oven and left to cool for half an hour, after which Molly decorated the cake with chocolate icing, as Victoria watched. Molly allowed Victoria to lick the icing spatula afterwards. The roasted Brussels sprouts, after also being left to cool, were put into the fridge.

After lunch, Molly said, "I think it's time for the birthday girl to open some presents." She looked over at Sherlock, who had just finished cleaning up Victoria as she had done with Christina. "Honey, would you go upstairs and get the big bag of presents for Christina, please?"

"As soon as I've unbuckled Victoria," he said, doing just that and lifting her down from her cushioned booster.

By the time he returned with the bag, Molly was on the floor in the front room with Christina in front of her, Victoria beside her to help open the presents.

"Don't forget there's a birthday card from Mycroft on the mantel," said Sherlock, handing her the envelope, which had Christina's name on it. The card had arrived two days earlier, along with another one that was addressed to "The Holmes family." Molly had opened that card and found a cheque for £300 and a folded note from Elizabeth. The message read,

_Dear Sherlock and Molly,_

_Mycroft, Mark and I wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas. Seeing as we are unable to be together for Christmas, please use this money to buy something special for your daughters and yourselves. Mark wanted me to request that you give his cousins an extra cuddle and kiss from him, and to tell them he misses them._

_Hope we will be able to gather once again soon._

_Love,_

_Elizabeth._

Molly had made sure to give those extra cuddles and kisses last night, telling Victoria they were from her cousin, because he could not see them over Christmas.

Now, Molly, with Victoria's "help", opened the birthday card for Christina. There was a £50 note in the card, which had been signed individually by Elizabeth, Mycroft and Mark.

Victoria pointed. "Money," she said.

Molly smiled at her daughter. "Yes. Isn't that kind of Uncle Mycroft, Auntie Elizabeth and your cousin?" 

She replaced the card in the envelope for now, and Victoria helped tear the wrapping off of Christina's presents, with Molly grasping one of Christmas hands on the paper to at least make it seem as if she was opening her own presents.

By the time they were finished, there was quite a large pile of discarded wrapping paper, and an even bigger pile of toys, including block puzzles, baby books and a Pusheen toy holding a little cake that had a 1 on top of it. Molly had seen this one on Amazon, and had suggested Sherlock buy it, seeing as Christina seemed so taken with the detective Pusheen Victoria had grown out of. Martha's contribution was a £20 note in a card and a Laugh and Learn Puppy. Of all the presents though, it was the Pusheen toy Christina took notice of and immediately took hold of, refusing to let go.

Molly looked up at Sherlock, who had recorded the whole process of opening presents.

"Chwisty get lots of pwesents," declared Victoria, looking around her.

Sherlock returned his phone to his pocket. "I'm sure she will share all her new toys with you, Victoria."

"Wanna play with that one," said Victoria, pointing at the Laugh and Learn puppy.

"Let me get it out of the box, and you and Christina can play with it together," Sherlock told her, as Molly gathered up all the wrapping paper to throw it away.

She and Sherlock walked together to the kitchen, he holding the puppy toy in its box.

Molly threw away the wrapping paper and watched as Sherlock cut off the ties holding the puppy in its box. 

Back in the front room, Sherlock put the puppy toy on the floor and said to Victoria, "Why don’t you show it to your sister?" He pressed the pad on its foot that read "foot". 

"Foot," came the puppy's voice.

Molly grinned as Sherlock ended up doing the demonstration for both girls rather than Victoria. The toy was cute how it not only said words but also played music.

After the demonstration of the puppy's various features, Sherlock pulled Christina onto his lap and guided her fingers to press a button, then allowed Victoria to take a turn. As usual, Molly felt her heart fill with love and adoration for the way her husband interacted with their daughters. She took out her phone and took a quick photo. She could never have too many candid photos of Sherlock with their children.

Victoria grew restless and got up, then walked to Molly. "Mummy, want cake."

Molly smiled at her daughter. She placed an affectionate hand on Victoria's head. "After dinner, princess. Do you want to watch a Disney film for now?"

Victoria nodded. "Watch the doggies."

Molly knew she meant _Lady and the Tramp_ , so she turned on the television and found the film on Disney Plus.

After the film, Victoria showed Christina how to assemble a block puzzle that had animal shapes which were divided into two pieces which fit together. Not surprisingly, Christina wasn't particularly interested. She was more concerned with sucking on her new Birthday Pusheen.

Sherlock received birthday calls for Christina from the Lestrades and the Watsons.

When Victoria heard Sherlock speaking to John, she said, "Wanna see Wosie."

"We'll do a FaceTime call tomorrow so you can see her, sweet pea," promised Sherlock, and he made arrangements to do a FaceTime call after lunch the next day. The Watsons too were having a quiet Christmas, but Kayla's parents were coming over to spend Christmas Day with them.

At five o'clock, when Sherlock had just returned from taking Victoria to the toilet, Molly said to him, "I suppose we should order our dinner now from _Nando's_." He had insisted that Molly not cook tonight, seeing as she would be doing the meal tomorrow.

Sherlock brought up the website on his laptop to order. "Looks like they've made some new rules because of COvID," he commented to Molly, and she read over his shoulder.

_Step 1:_

_Head to the restaurant as usual. If there’s a queue please wait outside the restaurant maintaining a safe 2m distance. Please don't forget to wear your face mask when collecting your order._

_Step 2:_

_One of our team will greet you at the door and invite you into the restaurant when it is safe to do so. To avoid unnecessary crowding please enter the restaurant on your own to collect your order._

_Step 3:_

_Your order will be placed by one of our team on the handover table. You will then be asked to step forward and collect it._

_Step 4:_

_Enjoy your PERi-PERi_!

"I had thought to take Victoria along with me for the ride, but it says to go alone," Sherlock said. 

"Probably just as well. I know it would have been nice for Victoria to go outside, but that would mean putting on her winter coat and hat, and then you still have to carry the food," said Molly.

"True."

Sherlock brought up the menu. "Should we just get the boneless platter? We can get chips and coleslaw as the sides." He looked over at Martha. "Is that okay with you, Martha?"

"That's fine with me, and I'm paying for the meal," she said.

"No you aren't," said Sherlock.

She glared at him. "Young man, I have been living here with no expenses for the past two months. The least I can do is pay for this meal."

"But-" began Sherlock, and Molly elbowed him. Sherlock found it difficult to accept kindness from others. He had complained before about Mycroft's generosity, and Molly had told him that being able to accept kindness from others was important, because it made the other person feel good.

"Accept kindness graciously," she murmured, and he nodded, understanding.

"Thank you, Martha. That's very generous of you."

"Will twenty-five pounds be enough?" she asked, beaming.

"Yes, the platter is-" he consulted the menu price, "Twenty three pounds and twenty pence."

"I'll just go upstairs and get you some money." She set down Christina, who had been sitting on her lap, and stood.

Victoria was on the floor, pressing the buttons on the Laugh and Learn puppy, and Christina toddled over to sit next to her sister.

While Martha was out of the room, Sherlock completed the order.

"Thank you, sweetheart," Molly said.

He didn't pretend to misunderstand. "You were right. She looked so happy at the idea of being able to do something for us." He leaned to kiss her. "Glad I have you to keep me in line."

Molly grinned and stood at the doorway of the room to watch Sherlock put on his Belstaff.

As soon as he had it on, he joined her in the doorway and pointed up at the mistletoe he'd placed there a few days earlier and had made ample use of at every opportunity. "Guess I need to kiss you before I leave." 

He did so, offering her a lingering kiss, which Martha interrupted.

"My goodness, you two are always kissing. You still act like newlyweds." She chuckled.

Sherlock smirked and pointed upwards. "At least this time I have an excuse."

"Well, sorry to break up your mistletoe kiss, but I'm sure you'll make up for it later." She winked at them both, then held out her hand. "Here's the money."

"Thank you, Martha." Sherlock tucked the money into his coat pocket.

Molly had to grin as the sound of "Bye bye," came from the puppy, as Sherlock opened the front door. Victoria had obviously pressed the on/off button.

"Be back soon," Sherlock said, "unless everyone is out buying Nando's tonight for Christmas Eve."

Molly watched as he exited in the usual swirl of his Belstaff, then returned to the sitting room with Martha to await his return.


	2. Christmas Eve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The family celebrates Christina's first birthday with cake.

Ten minutes after Sherlock had left, Molly’s phone rang.

She picked it up, seeing the caller ID was Sherlock, as she expected. Long queue?" she guessed.

"Yeah, and it's bloody freezing out here," he said. "I'm glad I didn't bring Victoria with me, seeing as I have to stand outside and wait to be invited in. It might be ten to fifteen minutes before that even happens."

"What, you mean you can't give an accurate deduction on how long you will have to wait?" teased Molly.

"Very funny, Molly. Nobody is that good. There are too many variables that cannot be anticipated. But if you insist, I can calculate an approximation, based on the average length of time it takes for each person ahead of me to exit the restaurant after entering, although it also depends on whether an order is ready for that person or not. Let's see, there are six people ahead of me and-"

Molly cut him off. She didn't need him to elaborate further. "It's fine, honey. Just give me a ring when you're in the car on the way home, so I can get the girls ready to eat as soon as you’re back."

"Will do." He paused a moment, then said, "I guess wearing a mask has its benefits. At least it is keeping some of my face warm."

"Be glad you don’t wear glasses," said Molly. "I've heard a lot of people at work complaining how wearing a mask fogs up their glasses all the time when they are outside."

"I'll have to remember that next time I’m feeling annoyed about having to wear a mask any time I leave the house." He paused, then said in a slightly sarcastic tone, "Oh, someone came out and another person just went in. I get to move two metres; how delightful."

Molly giggled. She had the feeling Sherlock was just trying to keep her on the phone because he was bored with having to wait in a queue. "Well, I'll speak with you soon. I think I'm going to put on some Christmas music now to get us into the Christmas spirit."

"Must you leave me to stand in the cold with nobody to talk to?" asked Sherlock in a plaintive tone, confirming Molly’s deduction that he was bored.

"Yes. You'll live."

He huffed in annoyance. "Very well. But when I return home half-frozen from being outside so long, you'll be sorry."

"Talking on the phone isn't going to warm you up, Sherlock."

"But it will distract me from thinking about how irritated I am that I left my gloves in the car."

Molly shook her head at that. "Why don’t you go back and put them on?" she asked.

"And lose my place in the queue? Not likely."

Well, that made sense. "If you get off the phone, you can keep your hands in your pockets to keep them warm." 

His voice was grudging as he agreed. "I suppose so. I'll talk to you soon."

He disconnected the call, and Molly spoke to the Amazon unit on the small table between the armchairs. "Alexa, play Christmas music."

She smiled as the sound of Bing Crosby's _White Christma_ s filled the air. 

"Oh, I love those old classic Christmas songs," said Martha, from where she sat in the armchair with Christina, whose fingers were reaching up to play with the gold chain around her neck. 

"Me too," said Molly.

She sat on the sofa and tapped her foot to the music, singing along to familiar pieces, telling Alexa to skip the inevitable _Last Christmas_ , by Wham because it was too depressing, and the same with _Do they Know it's Christmas?_ She wanted to listen to songs that would lift her spirits, not deflate them.

"Pwetty song, Mummy," said Victoria, as she too sat on the sofa and listened to the beautiful Pentatonix rendition of _Mary, Did You Know?_

It was almost twenty minutes before Molly's phone rang again, and she said, "Alexa, pause," before answering.

"Alright, sweetheart,” came Sherlock’s voice, “ I'm on my way home now."

"Okay, I'll take the girls to the table so we're ready to eat. Thanks, honey."

By the time Molly and Martha had situated Victoria and Christina in the booster seat and high chair respectively, Sherlock was home.

Molly pulled the skin off of the chicken and broke up little pieces for Christina and Victoria, while Sherlock pulled apart chips for each of them.

Sherlock was happy to eat the extra chicken skin discarded by Molly so it didn't go to waste. 

Molly divided the coleslaw between Martha, Sherlock and herself. She offered a spoonful of it to Victoria, but her daughter refused more than the first bite.

She had left the Christmas music playing, and they could still hear it as they ate. It definitely helped the atmosphere seem a little more like Christmas. Molly thought again of how different it would have been if Sherlock’s parents and her mother could have come this evening, but she tried not to dwell on it. She’d already had a little cry over that a few days earlier in the privacy of the bedroom with Sherlock there to hold her.

As Molly put away the leftovers, Sherlock and Martha cleaned the girls' hands and faces. Chicken and chips weren't overly messy, but they were a bit greasy.

Sherlock came up beside Molly as she was putting the last plate into the dishwasher. "When do we want to sing happy birthday and have the cake?" he asked quietly.

"I thought we'd let our dinner digest a bit. We can take a look at the _Hallelujah Chorus_ , then the sermon for Christmas Eve first. They should be on our church YouTube channel by now."

"Sounds like a good plan." 

Back in the front room, Sherlock sat on the sofa with Christina and ordered Alexa to stop the Christmas music playback.

"Would you like to see that lovely song Mummy and Daddy have been practicing lately?" Molly asked Victoria. "You'll be able to hear other people singing it as well, including Auntie Kayla and some other people from church."

Victoria nodded. "Mummy and Daddy sing."

"Sherlock?" asked Molly from the doorway where she still stood, and he looked over at her. "Do you think you could turn on the telly and tune it to our church's YouTube channel so we can watch the _Hallelujah Chorus_ on there, rather than my iPad?"

He stood gracefully, bringing Christina with him at the same time.

"I'll hold her," said Martha, and Sherlock took her over to sit on Martha's lap.

He retrieved the remote and scrolled to the YouTube icon on their smart TV. "What's the name of our church's YouTube channel?" he asked Molly. 

She gave him the name of the account, and he typed it in, while Victoria climbed onto the sofa to watch.

He found the two most recent videos and clicked on the one titled "Hallelujah Chorus", then stood back beside Molly, slinging his arm around her as they watched the masterful way their sound technician had edited the different singers together and alternated in showing fourteen people singing their hearts out. 

Molly and Abigail Hunter were two of the three sopranos, while Kayla sang alto with a young woman named Elisabeth and two other older women from church. Three men, including Caleb Hunter, who had come up with the idea of singing the piece from "Messiah," and a young man, Timéo, recently immigrated from France, who was dating Elisabeth, sang the tenor line. Sherlock, Bob and Matthias rounded out the ensemble doing the bass line. Molly was impressed with how the voices blended perfectly, as if it were a live performance. With her eyes closed, she would not have known that all the parts were recorded separately as people listened to the music with headphones or ear buds. 

She couldn’t help blinking back tears as she listened to the powerful piece, thinking of the words. _"And he shall reign forever and ever. Hallelujah, hallelujah!"_ This was what she imagined it would be like one day in heaven, when they would sing for joy at being in God's presence.

Sherlock, always aware of Molly’s feelings, squeezed her shoulder, bending his head to whisper into her ear. "I can hear your voice, it's the best one."

She smiled and turned her head to his, saying just as quietly, "I disagree. Yours is the best."

He wiped away the tear that had escaped with the pad of his thumb and brushed his lips against hers. "We make a good team."

They were beneath the mistletoe again, but Molly knew it wasn't a mistletoe kiss. It was just one of the frequent kisses they shared every day to express their love for one another.

When the music finished, Martha and Victoria clapped, as if they had been at a real concert. "That was absolutely wonderful," proclaimed Martha.

Victoria bounced up and down on the sofa in her excitement. "So pwetty!"

"Let's watch the Christmas message now," said Molly, going to sit beside Victoria, and Sherlock also sat on Molly's other side.

Pastor Briggs gave a wonderful message, offering some background on the lineage of Jesus that went all the way back to Adam. He also spoke about Mary's predicament in being pregnant whilst not yet married, and how Joseph had stood by her. If he had not done so, Mary would have been stoned to death. He'd even taken a heavily pregnant Mary with him to Bethlehem, because if he had left her behind, there may have been people who would have stoned her in his absence. It was a very sobering thought, and Molly thought once again of what a miracle it was that Jesus had been conceived by the Holy Spirit, rather than by a man. That was what had made him both a man and God at the same time. It was uch a profound mystery, yet she believed it with her whole heart.

She peeked over a couple times at Martha to see if she was listening. Unfortunately, it seemed as if Martha was finding it hard to keep her eyes open. Molly had noticed she often took little afternoon naps or dozed after dinner. Part of getting older, she supposed.

After the sermon concluded, Molly said, "I guess it's time for us to sing happy birthday and have cake before it gets too late."

"Cake!" Victoria clapped her hands.

Sherlock bent to take Christina from the dozing Martha, who nonetheless had kept her arms securely around the baby who was nestled against her, also looking rather sleepy. 

This action got their attention. "We're going to sing happy birthday now," he explained. "I can take Christina."

"No," she said, "you and Molly get the cake ready. I can keep holding her."

"If you insist."

A couple minutes later, Molly took the cake from the fridge, and Sherlock placed a "1" candle into it, then lit it.

Molly carried the cake to the table, and they sang happy birthday to Christina, as Martha continued to hold her.

At the end of it, Victoria turned to ask, "I blow candle?"

"Of course you can," responded Molly.

Sherlock lifted Victoria so she was close enough to expel a little puff of air and extinguish the candle on her sister's behalf.

While Sherlock got Christina settled into the high chair, Molly cut a small piece of cake and placed it on the tray in front of her. This was to be Christina's first experience with cake, and Sherlock was ready to record the momentous event with his phone.

As Molly continued cutting slices of cake, she said, "Would you like a glass of cream sherry, Martha? We bought a bottle so that we could leave some for Father Christmas tonight."

"Thank you, dear. That would be lovely."

"Sherlock? Would you like one too?"

"No thanks, love," he responded.

Molly, though not someone who usually drank alcohol aside from social occasions, had always enjoyed the sweet taste of cream sherry. When the slices of cake were on the table, she poured a little glass of sherry for Martha and herself and sat down to eat her cake.

She looked over at Sherlock who had finished filming Christina making a big mess of her tray and her face with her cake. He was now recording Victoria eating her own cake with much more finesse than her sister, although her hands and face would definitely need to be cleaned afterwards.

Sherlock finally set down his phone after panning around the table to record Molly and Martha, then tucked into his own slice of chocolate cake.

Later, Sherlock found the film, _The Snowman_ on YouTube. Molly had planned to put it on for Victoria earlier in the day when it was showing on Channel 4, but had forgotten. It was fortunate the film was available to watch on YouTube.

Christina sat on Sherlock’s lap, beside Molly, and she seemed fascinated with the fairly simplistic animation of the characters. There were no words for her to follow, so it was a purely visual experience. The short film was only half an hour long, but Victoria also seemed to enjoy the snowman's antics. 

"Snowman went away," said Victoria sadly as the film ended. It was a little sad to see the little boy run outside and see his snowman friend had disappeared.

"Yes," said Molly, adding, so that Victoria wouldn't be too distraught, "but he is magic and will come back next time it snows."

Victoria looked at Molly, rubbing her eyes. 

"I think someone needs to go to bed now," Molly said to her daughter.

"Don’t wanna sleep," said Victoria, spoiling the effect of her words by yawning.

"You must go to sleep if you want Father Christmas to bring you presents," said Sherlock firmly. "Shall we get some things ready for him now to have when he comes to bring the presents?"

"Okay, Daddy."

Sherlock handed Christina over to Molly and left the room, Victoria following him. He returned with a glass of sherry and mince pie for Father Christmas, as well as a carrot for the reindeer.

Molly had cleared space on the mantel, pushing aside some photo frames, and Sherlock set the items onto the cleared area. 

"Wanna see," said Victoria, and Sherlock lifted her up to see the items on the mantel.

"In the morning, when you come downstairs, we will check to see if Father Christmas took what we left him, okay?"

Victoria nodded.

"Sherlock, why don’t you put Victoria to bed so I can finish getting my Brussels sprouts dish ready for tomorrow," suggested Molly.

"Okay, love."

"Martha, would you mind putting Christina to bed? I promised I was going to wean her, and my mother was going to rock her to sleep on Christmas Eve, but seeing as she isn't here..."

"Of course I can do that," said Martha. 

Molly kissed her daughters goodnight, feeling a slight pang at the thought of not feeding Christina as she usually did. 

She went to the kitchen and quickly plaited her hair to keep it out of her face while she worked, tucking the plait into her jumper.

She set to work. She cut up the bacon into fine strips and put them in the frying pan to cook, then took some slices of bread to make fresh breadcrumbs. She also grated the parmesan and Gruyère cheese.

The air was soon filled with the delicious aroma of bacon cooking.

After removing the now-crisp bacon from the frying pan, Molly added the fresh breadcrumbs to the pan of bacon fat to get them crispy.

Martha appeared in the kitchen with Christina's video monitor.

"I hope she didn't give you too much trouble," said Molly.

"Well, she grizzled for a few minutes, but I kept rocking her, and she finally fell asleep."

"Thanks for that," said Molly, then furrowed her brow. "I wonder what's taking Sherlock so long? Is he having trouble getting Victoria to sleep? I know she's excited for tomorrow, but she was also tired."

Martha smirked. "Oh, he passed Christina's room while I was still trying to get her to sleep. When I went to fetch Christina's video monitor for you, he was in your bedroom doing something. I’m sure he'll be right down."

Molly wondered what Martha meant, but didn't ask.

Martha stifled a yawn. "Do you need any help before I head off to bed myself?"

"Nope. I'm fine. Thanks for helping to make this a special day for Christina. Can you do me a favour though?"

"Of course."

"Would you mind eating the mince pie Sherlock left for Father Christmas? Neither of us can stand mixed peel, so if you don’t have it, it will just get thrown in the bin."

Martha chuckled. "I love mince pies, myself. I'll be happy to eat it."

"Thanks. Sleep well, Martha. See you in the morning."

Molly watched Martha leave, then returned to her task, consulting her recipe. It was time to make the roux for the cheese sauce. She was adding the milk a little at a time when Sherlock came into the kitchen and put Victoria's video monitor on the counter.

She kept working at her task until Sherlock's arms went around her from behind. "How is the cooking going? Anything I can do to help?" She felt his lips make contact with her neck.

She continued to stir the last of the milk into the roux. "You can get the Brussels sprouts out of the fridge and put them in the glass dish I set out," she told Sherlock, with a nod in the direction of the rectangular oven-proof dish.

Sherlock complied. "Anything else?" he asked, as Molly began to add the cheese to the sauce. 

"Not here. But I guess you could bring down the presents now while I get this finished."

"This recipe is taking you an extraordinarily long period of time," commented Sherlock.

Molly let out a huff of laughter. "Yeah, it's taking longer than I thought. I hope the result is worth the effort."

He looked at her with a serious expression on his face. "I appreciate the effort, but I'm telling you right now, if I still do not care for Brussels sprouts after this, I am going to put my foot down and say we forgo them in future."

Molly nodded. "You're right. I know it's kind of traditional to have them, but there's no point in making something we don’t like, especially if it's just us."

He kissed her cheek. "I'll go get the presents for the girls and put them in front of the tree."

When Sherlock returned, he was holding the glass of sherry from the mantel. "Are you still not finished?" he asked, sound a little disgruntled.

Molly was spooning the cheese mixture over the Brussels sprouts and bacon. "Nearly done. I just have to finish this, then add the breadcrumbs and put it in the fridge." She glanced up at him. "Oh, I'm looking forward to that lovely sherry. I asked Martha to eat the mince pie. Did you eat the carrot?"

He set down the sherry. "I did my duty. His voice took on a teasing note. "Are you sure having a second glass of sherry won't make you tipsy? You know how you get when you've had too much to drink, and you haven't had any alcohol in over three years, want with being pregnant and breastfeeding." He winked.

Molly rolled her eyes at him and continued spooning the cheese sauce over the sprouts. "In my defence, I was enjoying a night out with my bridesmaids, and I didn't realise how potent cocktails were. I think I can handle a second glass of sherry."

"Too bad." He gave her a suggestive look. "I like my uninhibited Molly."

She giggled. "You're so ridiculous."

"But that's why you love me."

She set the empty pan back onto the cooktop and picked up the container with the prepared breadcrumbs. "If you can wait a couple minutes for me to finish, I'll show you how uninhibited I can be without being intoxicated."

He leaned his back against the counter, surveying her. "Fine, I'll wait."

Molly grinned and finished getting the dish ready, then put it into the fridge, all the while noting Sherlock’s eyes observing her every movement.

With that done, she took up the glass of sherry and drained it in a couple of quick gulps, coughing afterwards from the slight burn it created in her throat while Sherlock smirked at her.

_Okay, not the greatest idea to drink it so fast._ Sherry was definitely better when you sipped it slowly.

She had no sooner put the glass down than Sherlock slid his arms around her and kissed her, his tongue parting her lips, no doubt to sample the sherry aftertaste. Sherlock had always had a particular fondness for exploring the recesses of her mouth after eating or drinking something."Mm," he said after a delightfully satisfying kiss, "that sherry does lend itself to a particular sweetness in your mouth. Also, you smell good enough to eat, like bacon." He deliberately sniffed her hair.

"Yeah, I know. I need to go take a shower." She bit her lip. "But I really need to get these dishes into the dishwasher first."

"I'll help, then we can take a shower together," he suggested.

"Works for me."

Their chores finally completed, they headed upstairs, dropping the empty glass onto the mantel on the way, holding the video monitors fortunately displaying two peacefully sleeping daughters.

As soon as Molly entered the bedroom, she saw a large wrapped package on her side of the bed. "I figured we should open our gifts tonight, seeing as tomorrow will be a busy day," Sherlock explained.

That explained what he had been doing in the bedroom when Martha saw him. "Good idea. I'll get yours after our shower." She reached behind her to pull at her plait, but Sherlock came up behind her and released the strands.

They didn't linger in the shower, keeping to the business of cleansing their bodies and hair on this occasion rather than other, more pleasurable, activities.

After their shared shower, clad in dressing gowns, they crept into Victoria and Christina's rooms to fill their stockings.

In their bedroom, Molly took out Sherlock's two gifts from the wardrobe. They had agreed to keep their purchases minimal this year.

Sherlock insisted on Molly opening her gift first. 

Molly had no idea what the present could be. The package was fairly large but nit at all heavy. When she tore off the wrapping paper and opened the box, it was to reveal another wrapped box inside, After unwrapping four boxes that progressively grew smaller, she opened a very small box to find a beautiful pair of gold stud earrings in the shape of a flower with what she assumed were cubic zirconias.

"They're beautiful, Sherlock," she said, inspecting them closely.

"Don’t worry, Molly, they're cubic zirconias, not diamonds. I knew you'd be cross if I was too extravagant, but the posts are real gold. I thought you can at least wear these for work."

She bent towards him and kissed him. "Thank you, sweetheart, I love them! And it was clever of you to disguise them by using several boxes so I had no idea what I was getting." She set the earrings onto her bedside table and handed him the two packages she had wrapped. "Your turn."

Sherlock opened the first one. "A book on bee-keeping!" he exclaimed with evident pleasure. "I really like this. My dad has tried to talk with me about my grandfather's bee farm, and it will be good to read more about bee farming to understand it."

'I know you've mentioned it is something that intrigues you, and that you might be interested in taking it up one day after you retire from your detective work," said Molly, glad Sherlock liked the present. "Now open the other one."

Sherlock set the book aside and grinned at her when he unwrapped the present. "A new pair of Union Jack boxer shorts. You really like those , don’t you?"

Molly giggled. "I always think you look adorable and patriotic, and I noticed your other pair is getting pretty worn out, so I thought it was time to invest in a new pair."

He gave her a silky look. "Would you like me to model them for you now?"

She reached for the belt of his dressing gown. "I think we should leave that for another time. It's time for us to get to bed now."

Snatching the discarded wrapping paper and gift boxes, Sherlock tossed them unceremoniously off the bed, along with the new boxers and unbelted her own dressing gown. He placed his hands on her skin, caressing it in the way that made her sigh with pleasure at his touch.

Passion ignited and was fanned into flame as they gave and received the gift of love to one another that had been created for those united in the bond of marriage.

It was almost midnight when Molly lay in her husband's arms, reflecting on the quiet, but lovely day they had just had. Tomorrow, or rather, today, would be a busier one, but she was excited that her mother would be joining them. And the planned FaceTime call to Sherlock's parents would be better than no contact.

She felt Sherlock kiss her hair and whisper, "I love you, my darling."

"Love you too," she managed, justbefore drifting off into slumber.

**Sherlock and Molly's gifts below.**

****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First, a big thanks to **TheOneWithWheelsASH,** for her assistance with various aspects of this chapter, including telling me that _The Snowman_ is popular to watch in the UK at Christmastime.
> 
> The conversation that happened while Sherlock was waiting for his order was completely spontaneous, unplanned. Are you a person who wears glasses? I find it incredibly annoying when my glasses get fogged up each time I take a breath while wearing a mask. I can't wait until masks are no longer something we are encouraged to wear in public.
> 
> Most of the people I mention in the section with the Hallelujah Chorus, are OC characters I've created and who have been in various other stories of mine. One of my WIP's in particular, _Journey to a New Home_ (on fanfiction.net), features some of the characters on multiple occasions, as they are part of Molly and Sherlock’s church. Timéo and Elisabeth are new characters I have introduced in this chapter.
> 
> When I write about Molly preparing the Brussels sprouts recipe, it is a factual process. I found a recipe when I was writing my last installment, and I made it for my family, who, like me, are definitely not fans of Brussels sprouts. When you see Sherlock’s reaction to it later in the story, you'll know what my family's opinion of the dish was. Till then, I’m keeping mum! And besides - I haven't actually gotten to writing that bit!
> 
> With regard to Sherlock teasing Molly about having too much to drink - the time she overindulged takes place in my initial story, _A Journey to Love, Faith and Marriage_. If you are curious to see an uninhibited Molly, check out that story!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please don't forget to review. Each one is like a little burst of sunshine, or a little Christmas present created by your words just for me (and yes, it's past Christmas, but don’t let that stop you!)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for the Holmes children to open their Christmas presents (with a little help). Later, the Holmeses and Watsons reunite via FaceTime.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year, everyone! I had hoped to get chapter 3 up yesterday, but ran out of time with having my final physical therapy session and running errands. Best laid plans...
> 
> Anyway, here it is. I am in the middle of chapter 5, having discovered I had too much story to tell for it to be complete in 4 chapters (that happens a lot with me these days!). I am anticipating I should be able to complete the story in 5 chapters.
> 
> Please enjoy and remember those kudos and comments! All it requires is a few seconds to hit a button and a few moments to express your thoughts on what you've read. Guest comments welcome as well. Feel free to leave one in your native language too. I am happy to use Google Translate :)

Sherlock was vaguely aware of the crying coming from the monitor on Molly's side of the bed. He felt her slide away from him and raised himself on his elbow to glance blearily at the alarm clock. Just past five o'clock. Too early to get up. He registered Molly going to the bedroom door to take her dressing gown from its hook before he passed into slumber again.

He next awoke to feel the dip in the bed as Molly returned, and he felt her move so her body was touching his. "Did you feed her?" he asked, looping his arm around Molly to bring her still closer.

"No, I said I was going to wean her, so I just rocked her back to sleep. It took awhile though."

His hand brushed over Molly's breast. "How's the milk supply, now that it has been over twenty-four hours since you last fed her? I know it was a bit uncomfortable for a day or so after you stopped breastfeeding Victoria when you discovered you were pregnant again."

She snuggled into him. "My breasts do feel a bit weighted with milk, but not like last time, when I went cold turkey because I found out I was pregnant with Christina. I'll miss breastfeeding, though."

He kissed her hair. "Well, God-willing, you'll get the opportunity to do so again."

They'd discussed whether, after Christina was weaned, they should use birth control, but had decided that they would let nature take its course.

She let out a sigh of contentment. "No need to talk about that now. Let's get some more sleep while we can; it's only five-thirty."

Sherlock considered attempting some early morning loving, but decided more sleep was probably a good idea with such a busy day ahead.

Two hours later, it was the sound of Victoria's voice in the monitor on Sherlock's side of the bed that awoke him. She was sitting up in her cot-bed. "Mummy! Daddy! Chwistmas!"

Molly stirred as well and turned to Sherlock. "Merry Christmas, sweetheart."

He kissed her. "Merry Christmas, love." Then he said, "Why don’t I take care of entertaining Victoria so you can get dressed, and then we'll swap. I'd like to take some video of her with her Christmas stocking and opening gifts."

"Okay."

They got out of bed, and Sherlock quickly donned a pair of boxers and his dressing gown, then went to Victoria's room.

Victoria was eager to look into her stocking, but he said, "Not yet, princess. Wait till Mummy comes." She sat obediently on his lap, and he stroked her hair while they waited.

When Molly appeared in the doorway, wearing a new red buttoned blouse with a black lacy ruffle at the bottom which also went up alongside the buttons, Sherlock gave her a frank look of appreciation. He'd purchased the blouse for her, thinking it would suit her, and he was glad to see he had been correct. It was more form-fitting than what Molly usually wore, and it accentuated her womanly curves - curves that were even curvier thanks to the breastfeeding. She had paired the jumper with a long black skirt that had a thigh-high slit up the side, which he found quite sexy. But then again, everything about his wife was sexy, from the way she moved, the way she smiled and the dimple in her cheek, the way she talked, the way she loved him. Would he ever get past this wonder over the way she had chosen him? Probably not. He couldn't thank God enough for her and the children they had been blessed with.

Victoria pointed at the Christmas stocking at the end of her bed. "Look, Mummy, Father Chwistmas came!"

"I told her she had to wait until you came in to take a look," Sherlock said, setting Victoria on the floor and standing.

Molly helped Victoria take out the contents of her stocking as Sherlock recorded it on his phone. 

There were mini figurines of Elsa, Hans and Olaf, a small Christmas colouring book and crayons. When Victoria extracted the bag of chocolate coins, she said, "Money, Mummy."

"That's chocolate pretend money," said Molly, laughing at their daughter, and Sherlock smiled as well.

There was a container to blow bubbles, a little bottle of bubble bath, a soft pink headband and of course, in the toe, the traditional orange.

When the stocking was empty, Sherlock asked, even as he continued to record, "Should we go into Christina's room and see what Father Christmas put in her stocking?"

"Yes, Daddy!."

"Why don't I take the camera and record you with Christina," suggested Molly. "You shouldn't always be behind the camera." 

Sherlock pressed the stop button to pause the recording and handed his phone to Molly. "Let me get dressed first, if I'm to be on camera."

Molly nodded. "Would you like to have a piece of chocolate while we wait for Daddy?" he heard her ask Victoria as he left the bedroom. He had no doubt she would accept.

Before getting dressed, Sherlock went downstairs to turn on the Christmas tree lights. Then he dressed, putting on a dark red shirt to commemorate the Christmas season.

He left the bedroom and saw Martha coming from upstairs. "Merry Christmas, Martha. Would you like to join us?" he asked. "We are going to wake Christina."

"Merry Christmas! I'd love to."

He led the way to Victoria's room, where she and Molly were waiting. Victoria was holding her Elsa and Olaf figurines.

"Oh," Martha said, "it looks like Father Christmas came for you. What things did you get in your stocking?"

"I got Fwozen, and cwayons and chocolate and bubbles," she responded, pointing at the assortment of items on her cot-bed.

"I see an orange too," Martha remarked. "I don’t see any coal, so you must have been a good girl this year." She walked over to the bed to sit on the edge and give Victoria a little cuddle. "Merry Christmas, lovey."

Victoria smiled. "I good girl, Nanny."

Martha kissed the top of her head. "Yes, you are."

"Ready to wake your sister?" Sherlock asked Victoria as the women exchanged Merry Christmas greetings.

Victoria jumped off her bed and ran to Sherlock, taking his hand, while Molly and Martha trailed behind.

Sherlock dropped Victoria's hand and bent over the cot to pick up Christina.

Christina's eyes opened as Victoria piped up. "Mewwy Chwistmas, Chwisty!" She pointed at the full stocking hanging from the cot. "Look, Father Chrwistmas came!"

Christina gave her an unimpressed look, and Sherlock heard Molly stifle a giggle. He looked over at her and saw she was already holding the phone, obviously recording.

He knelt, placing Christina onto his knees. "Why don’t you look in the stocking for your sister?" he asked, using one arm to unhook the stocking from the cot and placing it on the floor.

Victoria looked over at Martha, who was standing beside Molly. "Help me, Nanny."

Between them, Martha and Victoria extracted items from the stocking. There were three  _ Frozen _ figurines in this stocking as well - Anna, Kristoff and Sven. Instead of chocolate coins, there were smaller chocolate buttons that would be easy for Christina to suck on. Her stocking also contained a little headband, bubbles, bubble bath and the inevitable orange.

Victoria was clearly more interested in the stocking contents than Christina was, especially the  _ Frozen _ figurines. 

Christina was getting restless on Sherlock's lap and began to grizzle. He saw Molly lower the phone. "Time for breakfast," she commented. "You can stay in your jammies for now, Victoria."

Sherlock winced slightly as he rose from his knees. He really needed to not kneel for so long. Martha had already teased him once before about showing his age. It was fortunate she didn't notice him wince this time.

They went downstairs, and Molly peeked into the front room with the lit Christmas tree. "When did you turn on the lights?" she asked him.

"Before I got dressed," he told her, then said to Victoria, "Let's take a quick look to see if Father Christmas took what we left out for him." He lifted Victoria into his arms so he could show the mantel with an empty plate and empty glass.

"Gone," said Victoria in an excited voice. Sherlock set her back down and she walked towards the pile of presents. "Open pwesents."

Molly said, "I know you want to open your presents, but Christina is hungry, so we have to eat first."

Victoria made a huff of annoyance and frowned, thrusting out her lower lip. "Wanna open pwesents now."

Sherlock intervened. "Victoria Faith, your mother told you we are eating breakfast first. If you continue to complain, you will wait even longer to open your presents." He gave her a stern look. "Do I make myself clear?"

When Sherlock used Victoria's middle name to reprimand his daughter, she knew he meant business. Her voice was meek as she said, "Yes, Daddy."

He was holding a still-grizzling Christina at his hip, but placed his free hand on Victoria's head. "Good girl."

They ate breakfast, toast and cereal being the quickest and easiest option. Victoria, with her love of chocolate, enjoyed a bowl of coco pops with milk, as did Molly. Martha opted for toast with jam. Sherlock had the same, and he fed pieces of bread with the crusts removed, with jam on it, to Christina. 

Molly unbuckled Victoria once her cereal bowl was empty. Sherlock was still sipping his coffee, having finished his breakfast last because he was also feeding Christina, when Victoria tugged on his arm impatiently. "Huwwy up, Daddy!" she demanded.

He took a last sip and set his cup down while Molly took charge of getting Christina out of her high chair. "Yes, yes, Victoria." He supposed he had looked forward to Christmas as a young boy, even though he couldn’t recall any specifics of Christmases from his childhood.

As they walked to the front room with Martha, Molly asked him, "Do you want to help unwrap presents or do the recording?"

"I'll take the video," he said.

First, Molly took the gifts from Sherlock’s parents from beneath the tree. Victoria opened hers, a little pushchair and some sets of clothes for Baby Rose. There were also two little dresses for her. For Christina, there were baby toys including a Playskool Tumble Top Spinning and Popping Baby Toy, and there were two little dresses for her as well.

"Oh, I'll have to put her into this one when I dress her. It's so Christmassy," commented Molly, lifting up the one long-sleeved dress. It was black velvet on the top and the skirt of the dress was red with black polka dots.

From Martha, there were new red hats she had knitted and red mittens she had bought to go with them. There was a red scarf for Victoria as well.

  
  


Then it was time to open all the gifts from "Father Chwistmas" as Victoria said. More toys, puzzles and colouring books emerged. Molly had suggested they buy a set of Mr. Men books, which she recalled reading as a child, and Sherlock had the vague feeling he'd also read some of those, although he might recall better once he began to read them to Victoria. There was clothing for both girls and a new coat for Victoria. The one she had worn the previous Christmas was really a little small for her now and could be passed on to her sister. There was a teddy bear for Christina. Upon discussion, Sherlock and Molly had decided a baby doll for Christina could wait until she was two, as Victoria had been.

At last, only one gift remained, the very large one for Sherlock and Molly from his parents.

"Do you want to open it or shall I?" asked Molly.

"Go ahead," said Sherlock, still recording.

Molly unwrapped the gift, which turned out to be a double pushchair. "Oh," Molly exclaimed, "this is wonderful! When the weather improves, it will be lovely to take walks outside with the girls."

Sherlock stopped recording. "A useful gift, indeed," he agreed.

While Martha supervised Victoria, who was showing her sister how to use her new colourful spinning top, Sherlock and Molly cleaned up the wrapping paper and threw it away.

While they were in the kitchen, Sherlock took the opportunity to put his arms around Molly and steal a kiss.

"What was that for?" she asked after their lips parted.

"Do I need a reason to kiss my wife?" he countered. "I just like to show how much I appreciate you." He raised his hands to her shoulders. "I am so proud of how you've not let the disappointment of our change in Christmas plans affect you adversely."

He really was proud of her. He recalled the events of a few days earlier when they watched the broadcast where the guidelines were changed to restrict Christmas visitors. He'd heard the sorrow in Molly's voice as she turned to him and said, "well, I guess it's just as well you didn't buy the turkey yet. You might as well just get a turkey crown. There would be far too many leftovers, otherwise."

She'd even cried a little that night in bed, while he comforted her. Molly had been so excited at the thought of hosting her inlaws for Christmas for the first time. Quite frankly, Sherlock had been tempted to say, "To hell with the guidelines, let's just go ahead with our planning," but he knew Molly would not have agreed. Molly liked to keep the rules, Sherlock was more inclined to bend them a little as needed. Actually, there was only one time when Molly had knowingly broken the rules of legality, and that was when she'd helped him fake his suicide and later signed his death certificate. But she had told him that was because, in that instance, his life was more important than following the rule of law. Sherlock knew his wife well enough to understand that these changes to the Christmas rules, though upsetting, were not ones Molly would feel were ethically ones she'd be willing to break.

Now, a wry smile touched her lips. "We can't change the way things are, and besides, I have what is most important, and that is you and our daughters. Martha is a bonus, as is my mother coming this afternoon. Besides, we'll be able to speak to your parents via FaceTime later."

He rested his forehead lightly against hers, then kissed it. "That's my Molly, always looking at the glass as half full, rather than half empty."

He took her hand, and they rejoined Martha and their daughters.

Sherlock saw Martha had obviously helped Victoria put Baby Rose into the toy pushchair, and she was now walking back and forth in the room, pushing her doll around, even as Christina had a hand on the handle and was also walking beside her sister. "Look Mummy," she said to Molly, "I pushing Baby Wose. And Chwisty is helping."

Molly flicked a glance at Sherlock to smile at him before saying, "That's lovely, Victoria. Baby Rose must be enjoying the ride."

Sherlock spent more time on his phone, recording as the morning progressed.

He had just finished recording Christina successfully pushing down the stick of her spinning top to make it spin when his text alert sounded.

_ Hey Sherlock, are you free to FaceTime now? I thought it might be easier to do before Kayla's parents come this afternoon. _

Sherlock responded quickly.

_ That's actually a good idea. Let me round up the family and get Molly’s iPad, and we'll FaceTime you. _

_ We'll be ready. Rosie can't wait to see Victoria,  _ was John's response.

Molly looked over at him. "Who was that?"

"It was John. He suggested we FaceTime now, before Kayla's parents arrive. I think it's a good idea too. After all, we will be spending time with your mother and then FaceTiming my parents later. Not to mention that we want to watch the queen's message at three o'clock." He was about to ask her to fetch her iPad when she saved him the trouble, anticipating him as usual.

"I'll get my iPad."

A few minutes later, the three adults were sitting on the sofa, with Victoria on Sherlock’s lap and Christina on Martha's, while Molly pressed the FaceTime button to call the Watsons.

As soon as it connected, she used her iPad cover to prop up the screen and set it on the coffee table, far enough away so that everyone could be in the picture.

Sherlock saw John's image loom large in the picture, then shrink as he did what Molly had done, apparently putting Kayla's iPad onto a table so that his family could be in view.

A chorus of "Merry Christmas" ensued, with "Mewwy Chwistmas" being exchanged by Rosamund and Victoria in their matching lisps.

Sherlock thought it was quite endearing, the way Rosamund and Victoria kept waving at one another.

They talked for a few minutes, exchanging updates on how things were going and remarks on how each other's children were growing as well.

Then Kayla asked, "How was Christina's birthday celebration yesterday? I remember being disappointed that we couldn’t have anyone over to celebrate Adam's first birthday because of the lockdown."

"It was quiet, but good," responded Molly. Sherlock saw her glance at Martha. "We're blessed that Martha at least was able to celebrate with us."

"I'm so glad you haven't been alone, Mrs. Hudson, er, Martha," said John, still having trouble with her first name. Sherlock wasn't surprised. John had not had nearly as much time to refer to her by her first name as she had requested, and he had resisted it for a long time. It had taken Sherlock months himself to feel comfortable with the name change.

"Well, it has been lovely staying here, but I'm looking forward to my independence again, once I've had my vaccinations," said Martha.

Sherlock saw John wink as he said, "But surely that will be months yet. You are far too young to be eligible for the vaccine."

Martha snorted. "John Watson, you know very well that I turned eighty last year, on the day of that church play performance. I never meant to tell you my age, but when you asked, I just blurted it out."

John smiled. "That you did, and I think you can be proud of yourself for participating in a play at-" he paused and looked embarrassed.

"At such an advanced age, you mean?" said Martha, with a raised eyebrow and a note of laughter in her voice. "It's okay. I know I'm getting on in years, but I'm not dead yet. Anyway, once I've had my vaccinations, I'm going to go back to Baker Street."

Sherlock looked over at Molly, a question in his eyes, and she nodded. Molly was obviously already privy to that little tidbit. He'd have to ask her tonight how that conversation came about.

"That's understandable," said John. "It seems strange to think of the place being empty right now."

"I can't wait to give both flats a good dusting," Martha said brightly, and Sherlock knew she was being sincere. Despite all the "I’m your landlady, not your housekeeper" protests over the years, she was always coming in to do dusting when he was living there with John. She’d taken a break from it after he and Molly had married, but after they'd moved to their new home, Martha had resumed dusting and hoovering the flat regularly. He'd appreciated the way the flat was kept in readiness for his consultations.

Victoria interrupted with, "Wosie, Father Chwistmas bwought me pwesents. Look!"

She jumped off Sherlock’s lap and pulled her toy pushchair, still with Baby Rose in it, so that it was in front of the coffee table and visible on the screen.

"Rosamund clapped her hands, and she too got off her father's lap to collect something, bringing it into view. "Look, I got a camewa!"

Sherlock recognised it as a toy camera he'd seen online, which really worked, but had decided Victoria was a little too young for. 

Victoria clapped her hands as well. He enjoyed seeing the interaction of the two little girls. God-willing, next year they would be able to get together in person again and enjoy one another's company.

"Oh," said Kayla, "did you watch the  _ Hallelujah Chorus _ ? John and I watched it last night. I think it turned out so well."

Sherlock heard the enthusiasm in Molly's voice as she responded. "Oh, I thought it was amazing. It was even better than I expected. Everyone's voices blended so perfectly! "

"Yes, I'm sure Caleb is so proud he had the idea, and that we were still able to do it virtually. Maybe next year we'll get to do it again in person."

"I hope so," said Molly. "But in the meantime, it was nice to see faces of people we haven't been able to see in a while."

"That's so true," agreed Kayla. "I wonder how Timéo and Elisabeth have been doing? They only started going out a couple months before the pandemic started. I can't imagine how difficult it must be for young couples who have been forced to stay apart all these months, or at least, be unable to spend much time together."

Sherlock recalled seeing some YouTube comedian joking about the "rule of six" being more like the "rule of  _ sex _ ", where people who were not living together could not even meet indoors during the higher tier restrictions and lockdowns. In the secular world, where most dating relationships involved regular sexual intimacy, that must be difficult. Sherlock was quite relieved to be married and not have to worry about that. At least, as Christians, he assumed in the case of Timéo and Elisabeth, the inability for sexual intimacy was not an issue; it would just be the disappointment in not being able to spend time together in general. Molly’s response brought his attention back to reality.

  
  


"-for them," she was saying, "but I'll bet they've been having fun getting to know one another more just by communicating in non-physical ways."

Sherlock noticed Christina getting restless, and from a smell that suddenly assailed his nostrils, he realised she had dirtied her nappy. "Ma-ma" she said, then again, "Ma-ma", and Molly beamed, despite the smell. Sherlock knew she was quite delighted that their daughter was now saying Ma-ma to attract her attention. Although she had said Da-da on occasion, those occasions were few and far between.

"Somebody needs her nappy changed," Molly commented.

"I guess we should get going anyway," said John. "We need to get a few more things done before Kayla's parents get here. It has been great to have a chat, though."

"Yes," said Sherlock. "We will have a lot of catching up to do once we get past the worst of the pandemic and life goes back to the way it was before, if that's even possible. I've missed doing cases. Zoom consultations offer me no more than a two for solvability on my scale. I yearn to get back out there and solve some murders that require more of my deductive capabilities."

Molly frowned at him. "Sherlock, remember there are children present. No need to talk about such things right now."

He gave her a penitent look. "Sorry, love." She was right, perhaps the topic of murder was a little inappropriate, but he doubted the children were paying attention.

The families exchanged goodbyes with promises to FaceTime again soon, and Sherlock ended the FaceTime call while Molly went with Christina to the changing unit they had purchased a month earlier, so they could change Christina's nappy without having to bend over her on the floor. Actually, it was the act of Martha volunteering to change Christina's nappy and then struggling to get up from the floor afterwards that prompted the purchase. Quite frankly, Sherlock didn't know how they'd managed without the unit for so long. It was so much easier on the body to not lean over so far, and the pockets with nappies and wipes at the ready were most convenient.

Victoria tugged on his hand. "Need to wee, Daddy."

He took her to the toilet, and by the time they returned to the room, Molly had finished changing Christina.

"Well, I think it's time to get the girls dressed," said Molly. "Sherlock, can you get that new dress for Christina that I want her to wear? And I think Victoria can wear one of her new dresses too." She indicated the dress, and Sherlock picked up the dresses.

Upstairs, he dressed Victoria while Molly dressed Christina, and they returned downstairs to see Martha playing with the spinning top.

She looked up rather guiltily as they entered. "I remember having one of these as a girl," she said. "It's amazing to see they are still around and popular these days, even if they are more fancy than in my day."

"I guess some toys are timeless," said Molly with a smile.

Sherlock looked at his watch. "Should we have an early lunch so I can leave to pick up your mum? If you want to wait, I guess I can just eat when I get home."

"I'm hungwy," declared Victoria.

Molly grinned at him. "Our daughter has spoken, let's eat now, and then you can leave."

They ate lunch, and it was just past noon when Sherlock left to pick up his mother-in-law. It had been an enjoyable Christmas morning so far, he reflected as he drove in the extremely light traffic. It still amazed him to see the streets of London so devoid of vehicles, but he was not complaining. He detested driving in heavy traffic, and he knew he was a rather impatient driver at times. On Christmas Eve last year, when Molly had been in labour and he'd driven her to hospital straight from their church service, he had let out a few colourful curses at the heavy Christmas Eve traffic. No need for curses about inconsiderate cabbies that pulled out in front of him this time.

Twenty minutes later, rather than the half hour it usually took, he found a park and knocked on the door to his mother-in-law's flat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Christmas morning is over. I spent a lot of time researching various toys that would be age appropriate. I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into Christmas morning for my characters and the opportunity to check in with the Watsons.
> 
> Was Sherlock a bit too hard on Victoria in making her wait until after breakfast to open her presents? I mean, how do you deal with a hungry baby and an impatient toddler at the same time?
> 
> Oh, and there's a reference near the end about traffic situations you can find in _A Sherlolly Christmas Baby_ , my Christmas story from last year.
> 
> I look forward to hearing from you! Feel free to share your Christmas traditions in your comment - I’m sure other readers would enjoy reading those as well. I know I read the comments on a story as well as the story itself, (and of course, I leave comments for what I read because I know other writers want to hear from their readers too). Feedback is the most tangible way to show appreciation for a story. Thank you so much to those of you who will be kind enough to do that for me. That is what keeps me writing in this "universe" for my married characters and their family and friends.


	4. Christmas Afternoon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sherlock picks up Molly’s mum to spend Christmas afternoon and evening with the family.

"Merry Christmas, Sherlock," said Ruth Hooper when she opened the door to admit him. "Molly called to say you had just left to pick me up. You're earlier than I expected."

"Merry Christmas to you, too," responded Sherlock. "I apologise for being early. Traffic was very light."

"Oh, it's no problem; I've been ready for hours, actually." She pointed to two bags near the front door laden with gifts. "I can't wait to see my granddaughters. Let me just get the stuffing from the fridge and the Christmas pudding."

Sherlock waited as she retrieved those items and put on her coat. "Would you like me to carry the food or the gift bags?" he asked when she was ready to go outside.

"If you can just take the bags, that will be fine."

Sherlock nodded and picked up the bags. 

He stowed them carefully in the back seat of the car, between Christina's rear-facing car seat and Victoria's front-facing one, rather than the boot, so they would remain upright. Then he opened the front passenger door and took the food from his mother-in-law so she could get in. He handed her the food again, closed the door and went to the driver's side of the car.

The return trip was just as free of traffic. "Molly and I have a little surprise for you," he commented as he drove, thinking about the way they had kept secret the news that Christina was now walking.

"Oh? Don’t tell me Molly’s pregnant again, is she?"

He chuckled. "Not that we're aware of, although we'll see what happens over the next few months, now that Molly has stopped breastfeeding Christina. Martha rocked her to sleep last night, and I’m sure Molly would be happy if you did the honours this evening, before I take you home."

"I'd be happy to do that." Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the sidesof her mouth slide upwards. "Judging by how quickly you and Molly conceived the first two times, I'll be expecting another announcement within the next few months." She sighed happily. "I never thought I'd be a grandmother, and here I am, with two lovely granddaughters."

Sherlock’s lips quirked. "You sound like my own mother."

"Speaking of which, I'm so sorry I won't get to see them today, after all. Your mother and I keep in touch via text, and she was telling me she and your father had their first dose of the vaccine," Ruth commented.

"That's right. I was saying to my mother a couple days ago that perhaps we will be able to have an Easter celebration, seeing as we cannot all be together for Christmas."

"Oh, I do pray that will be possible."

They continued to chat amiably for the next few minutes.

Sherlock parked in the same spot he'd vacated less than an hour earlier, directly in front of their house.

Molly opened the front door before they even reached it. She was holding Christina, and Victoria was standing with her. "Victoria has been keeping watch to see when you arrived," she explained.

"Nanny!" Vitoria hugged her grandmother's legs as soon as she entered.

Sherlock was amused to see his mother-in-law didn't know whether to acknowledge Victoria first or Molly and Christina. There was also the added complication that she was carrying the container with stuffing and the Christmas pudding.

Martha came to the rescue by joining them, saying, "Merry Christmas! Let me take that from you," and heading off towards the kitchen with the food.

Ruth bent down to give Victoria a kiss. "Hello, dearest."

Then she stood to give Molly and Christina a peck on the cheek. "Merry Christmas, and happy belated birthday to you, Christina," she added.

Sherlock waited patiently in the doorway with the bags in his hand, until Molly ushered her mother into the front room.

He set the gifts bags down near the tree and said to Ruth , "Let me take your coat," as he removed his own Belstaff to hang on one of the hooks near the front door.

"Thank you, Sherlock," she responded, taking off her coat and handing it to him.

Sherlock hung up the coats and returned to see his mother-in-law take a seat in an armchair across from the sofa.  _ Luckily it isn't the one Martha uses, _ he thought to himself in amusement.

"Mum, would you like to hold Christina now?" asked Molly.

"Yes, please." She extended her arms, waiting for Molly to bring her over.

But, as Sherlock and Molly had planned together, Molly instead bent down to lower Christina to the floor. Molly pointed to her mother. "Go to Nanny."

Christina merely stood, unmoving, and Sherlock realised she probably wasn't familiar enough with her grandmother to follow her mother's instructions. 

Sherlock assessed the situation, his eyes alighting on Christina's new birthday Pusheen toy. Perhaps a little persuasion would work. He picked up the toy and gave it to Victoria, who had climbed onto the sofa. He whispered to her, "Victoria, why don’t you go over to Nanny and call your sister to come to her toy, so Nanny can see she's walking now."

"Okay, Daddy." 

She slid off the sofa and walked until she was beside the armchair. "Chwisty," she said, holding out the toy, "look."

Sherlock watched as Christina continued to stand for a moment, then toddled towards Victoria to snatch up her toy. It was remarkable how quickly she had become confident with her walking after that first step three weeks earlier.

Ruth Hooper gasped and clapped her hands. "You didn't tell me she was walking now! " Sherlock saw her look over at Molly. "Last time I asked, you said she wasn't walking yet."

Sherlock walked over and picked up Christina to place her in Ruth's arms, even as Victoria scrambled to sit beside her grandmother.

Molly responded to her mother. "She took her first step that evening after you asked. Seeing as you haven't asked about her walking since then, I thought to keep it a surprise for you."

Ruth looked down at Christina and gave her a cuddle. "Well, it certainly was. Such a big girl," she said with a smile.

"I big girl too, Nanny," said Victoria, sounding rather cross.

Ruth took an arm from where it had been around Christina, so she could give Victoria a cuddle as well.

"Of course you are, darling. You are a very good big sister."

Victoria beamed, mollified.

Sherlock, noting that Martha had not returned, went in search of her.

She was in the kitchen, pouring tea from a teapot. She always preferred to make tea the traditional way, rather than with tea bags, and Molly’s rarely used teapot was being put to use regularly these days. Sherlock had to admit, he did like drinking brewed tea again made by Martha, rather than the tea bags to which he had become accustomed since Molly had taken over his care. Molly was perfectly content with regular tea bags, particularly herbal ones. She really didn't have time to brew tea as Martha did.

Sherlock recalled how, in those bachelor days, every day, like magic, a teapot filled with freshly brewed tea had appeared on the table for him.

"I thought your mother might like a nice cup of tea," Martha said, when he approached. "Would you and Molly like one too?"

"None for me right now. Molly probably wouldn't want one now either. She is more likely to drink herbal tea these days. Thanks, though."

He watched as she placed two tea cups onto a small tray, as well as the sugar and milk bowls, along with tea spoons.

Martha looked at him. "It's no trouble, Sherlock. Besides, I wanted to give Ruth a chance to bond with her granddaughters a little." Her expression became troubled. "I can't help feeling guilty that I have had the opportunity to spend so much time with your daughters when I am not even blood-related to them."

Sherlock folded his arms and gave her a stern glance. "Biology is not important here. The simple fact of the matter is, you are every bit as much of a grandmother as is either Molly's or my mother. My daughters are blessed to have three grandmothers, rather than two. And I know Molly feels the same."

He saw Martha blink rapidly, and her voice trembled slightly as she said, "I don’t think you have ever paid me a nicer compliment. That means so much to me, because I do think of you and Molly as my family. And your daughters, I love them as dearly as if they were biologically my own grandchildren."

"And we love you just as dearly," said Sherlock firmly, walking to the other side of the counter to give Martha's shoulders a squeeze.

Martha gave him a fond smile. "I feel as if I have watched you grow up these past few years. You are nothing like the man you were when I asked for your help to make sure my husband got his just desserts for what he had done."

Sherlock smiled back at her. "Your plea for my assistance was an intriguing one, and I’m glad I was able to help. I cited my success with that case when I offered my services to Scotland Yard, and because of it, Greg began sending cases my way."

"So, if you hadn't taken my case, you might not have started working with Scotland Yard?"

Sherlock thought about that. Tackling an international case for the first time had been what had led to him cementing himself as a consulting detective in his own right. He'd then offered his services to Scotland Yard to relieve his boredom in between working on MI6 missions. Left at loose ends for too long could have led to him using drugs again to relieve that boredom. "Let's just say, my success in seeing that your husband was sentenced to death gave me a credibility that would otherwise have necessitated some kind of degree in law or law enforcement."

"Funny how things turn out," she commented, taking up the tray.

"Indeed, I believe the hand of God has been upon me in everything I have undertaken, even before I knew God myself."

"It certainly seems that way." She smiled as she passed him to return to the front room, and Sherlock followed her.

As they entered, Molly's mother was explaining to Victoria, "…one bag has gifts just for your sister's birthday. So perhaps you can help her open those first, and then you can open your Christmas presents."

Sherlock couldn't help smiling at the way she was still holding Christina with one arm and had her other around Victoria. He noted how Victoria raised her head excitedly at the prospect of presents. He was quite relieved that Molly and Martha had excused him from the task of wrapping presents this year, spending a couple evenings together wrapping them after the girls had gone to sleep. The only gift he had wrapped was the one he'd given Molly last night, which had been the equivalent of four gifts, anyway.

"Martha has made tea for both of you," Sherlock said, "so you can drink it while I supervise Victoria as she helps Christina with her gifts." He walked over to his mother-in-law to collect his daughter.

Much as Molly had done the day before, Sherlock sat on the floor with Christina perching on his crossed legs while he "helped" her pull one bit of wrapping paper even as Victoria tore into the rest. This time, Molly did the recording.

The first gift held a couple baby books, which Victoria put aside immediately in favour of opening a bigger gift. When she opened it, Sherlock saw it was an old style telephone with wheels that had a string attached for the child.

"Oh, it's just like the toy phone I pulled along behind me when I was little!" exclaimed Molly from behind her own phone.

Victoria frowned at that. "Not phone," she said, pointing at Molly's phone as she recorded. "That's phone."

Sherlock grinned. Of course, the children of today had probably never even seen a phone that used the circular dial. It was no wonder Victoria didn't believe Molly. "That's what phones used to look like, princess, when Mummy and I were very young," he told her, demonstrating how to put a finger in the number you wanted and moving it in a clockwise fashion.

"That's silly, Daddy," said Victoria.

"Well, that's the way it was back then, and look," he picked up the receiver, "you picked this up and held it to your ear so you could hear people, and you talked into it."

Victoria looked at him with wide eyes. Sherlock wondered idly what she would think if she saw an old fashioned typewriter. Technology had truly advanced so much in the past few decades. Goodness, 10 years ago he'd been using a Blackberry, and now he didn't know how he'd ever managed without his smart phone.

Victoria took the receiver and held it to her own ear, pretending to listen. "Nobody there," she finally said. "Here, Chwisty."

Christina took it from her and promptly put it to her mouth. "Ma-ma," she said into the mouthpiece, and Sherlock laughed, along with Molly, Ruth and Martha.

"Here's the last one," said Sherlock, giving Victoria the last birthday gift from the bag.

It was a pair of new fleecy sleepsuits, and Victoria said, "Bor-wing," tossing the clothes aside.

Sherlock gave a guilty start at that, even as Martha commented, "I wonder where she gets that from?" and everyone laughed again. He'd been a little too fast and loose in using that word when flipping television channels in Victoria’s presence, or responding to Molly's questions about some of his recent Zoom Consultations. Clothes were handy, but definitely not something to interest a child. Molly would appreciate them, though. She had said Christina needed to go up a size.

"Thanks, Mum," said Molly, after she put down her phone. "I appreciate the clothing, even if Victoria finds them boring. I was just telling Sherlock the other day that Christina is outgrowing her clothes, and we need to buy more. I can't use Victoria's old ones, seeing as most of her eighteen-month clothes were for summer, not winter." She gave a wry smile. "John and Kayla offered to give us Rosie's clothes for that age when the time came, but obviously that hasn't been possible since we haven't been able to see them in a couple months."

"Oh," said Molly’s mum, as Victoria went to sit with her, and Molly picked up Christina from the floor in front of Sherlock, "with everything that has been going on this year, I never thought to ask, did you have time to have the christening gown dry-cleaned and stored before COVID hit?"

Christina's baptism had been at the end of February. That had also been the last time Sherlock’s parents had been in London, and he was grateful they'd been able to come. If not for Christina's baptism, they might have only had the opportunity to see Christina as a newborn. Sherlock felt that had certainly been an example of God's perfect timing.

That was a special day, Sherlock reflected now, where Christina had worn the same christening gown as Victoria before her, one which had previously been worn by both Molly herself and her own mother. So that precious heirloom was around 70 years old at this point. He recalled how delighted Greg and Lori had been upon being asked to be godparents, as had been Matthias. Sherlock and Molly had thought carefully about whom to ask. They wanted godparents who would exemplify Christian behaviour in their own lives. Greg's turn to faith had happened a few months earlier, so he and Lori were obvious choices. Matthias, who had become a good friend since Sherlock had become his NA sponsor, was their other choice. The younger man had participated in the play about the life of Jesus, and he had helped to design sets for it last year. He had even sung a solo. Sherlock thought he really needed to text Matthias and see how he was doing. He lived alone, and they texted occasionally, but things had been so busy lately, they hadn't communicated in a few weeks.

Sherlock reflected further. The decision for whom to ask as godparents for Victoria's baptism in July of 2018 had been equally as important. Sherlock had wished John to be godfather because he had been accorded the same honour for Rosamund, and Molly had been hesitant at first, because at the time, John had still not committed his life to Christ. She wished to ask Kayla instead. Sherlock had argued that he felt John was coming closer to faith, had even said as much to him immediately after Victoria was born. They had compromised by asking both John and Kayla to be godparents to Victoria, along with Abigail Hunter. Molly and Sherlock were godparents to Abigail and Caleb's son, Josiah, who had been born a couple weeks after they had put on the play. 

Ironically, it had been less than two weeks after Victoria's baptism that John had committed his life to the Lord, so it had been a good choice. So many people did not even take the role of a godparent seriously, and Sherlock knew it must have been God who had orchestrated things so that he was the right person to be godfather for Rosamund, even though he'd been an atheist at the time. It was funny how things turned out.

He blinked back to reality as Molly said, "Isn't it, Sherlock?"

"Isn't it what?" he asked, feeling a little embarrassed at allowing his mind to wander.

"I thought you had got past the habit of going into your mind palace at random times," commented Martha, who had somehow contrived to take Christina from Molly while he had been lost in thought.

He grinned wryly. "It is a rare occurrence these days, I promise. The talk of Christina's baptism had me thinking it was the last time our families were together, and how glad I was that the pandemic lockdown didn't happen until after that. And that got me to thinking about when Victoria was baptised and how pleased I am at our choices for godparents. You know how it is, The mind tends to drift from one thing to another sometimes."

Molly’s mum nodded. "Oh, I know exactly what you mean. I've been guilty of that myself. Sometimes I'm in the middle of a conversation when a stray thought about something completely different hits me and I go off on a tangent. Then I have to ask the person what I was talking about originally because I get so far off-track I can't remember what we were talking about originally." She continued. "Molly was saying she had had the christening gown dry cleaned and stored in tissue paper in a cardboard box, and that she thought it was on top of your wardrobe."

Sherlock nodded. "Yes, it's there and ready to be used if we need it again. Otherwise, it will stay there until our first grandchild comes along."

"Oh, my goodness, don’t even talk about having grandchildren!" exclaimed his mother-in-law. "I'm still enjoying just being a grandmother myself."

"Speaking of grandmother," said Molly, walking over to the tree to bring out two presents that had still been tucked beneath, "this is for you, Mum."

"Why, thank you!" she responded, opening the first gift, which held a recent framed photo of Sherlock, Molly and their daughters, which Martha had taken and Sherlock had subsequently printed out. They had sent the same gift to Sherlock’s parents. "Oh, it is so lovely! I know exactly where to put it too, in the middle of the mantel," she said, beaming.

She opened her second gift, which was a necklace that had two teardrop-shaped birthstones hanging from it, one of emerald, for May, Victoria's birthday, and the other blue topaz to indicate Christina's birth month. Sherlock and Molly had sent another necklace to his mother that was identical save for an extra teardrop-shaped pearl birthstone to signify June, Mark's birth month.

As an honorary grandmother, Martha had also received the same gifts that morning.

"Oh, thank you so much," Ruth said, giving Sherlock and Molly a warm smile. "Now you must open the gifts I have for you." She indicated the lone gift bag that remained.

Sherlock reached for the bag. There were several presents inside, two in gold wrapping paper, the others with festive images of Father Christmas. "I presume these two are for Molly and me?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow as he held up the gifts in gold paper. One was obviously a bottle.

"Yes, and you will be able to use both of them today," responded his mother-in-law.

Sherlock took the wrapped bottle and handed Molly the other gift. He allowed Molly to open her present first.

"Oh," she exclaimed once the paper was off. It was a red tablecloth with a white snowflake design on it. "Mum, I've been thinking our dining table looked a little bare, and it needed something to make it look more Christmassy. This is perfect!"

"I'm so glad you like it," said Ruth.

When Sherlock opened the other present, he found a bottle of brandy. "It's for the Christmas pudding," explained his mother-in-law. "You know I don’t drink anymore, so I didn't want to buy a bottle for the Christmas pudding and keep it at my place. I don't need the temptation." Sherlock knew she was referring to her alcoholism, and he thought it very wise of her to not put herself in temptation's path. She'd be able to eat the Christmas pudding, of course, because the act of putting the tablespoons of brandy on the pudding and setting it alight would render any remaining alcohol content negligible. He recalled that from reading up on it when Molly had been pregnant with Victoria, so he could assure her there was no risk to the baby.

"That was really thoughtful of you, Mum," said Molly. "I'll just go and put the tablecloth on now, and then Victoria can open her Christmas presents from you next. I'm proud of her for being so patient."

"I'll help you with the tablecloth," said Sherlock, taking the bottle with him as well as they exited.

As Molly pulled off the plastic packaging for the tablecloth, Sherlock set the brandy on the counter next to the Christmas pudding.

He helped Molly lay the festive tablecloth on the table, then took the opportunity of their little time alone to slip his arms around her waist to kiss her.

Molly smirked once the kiss ended. "I knew you had an ulterior motive for offering to help with the tablecloth."

He moved a hand along her bare thigh, delightfully accessible due to the slit in her skirt. "I can't help it if you always look ravishing, my love. That slit in your skirt is very convenient."

She fluttered her eyelashes at him. "Well, you had better behave yourself, or you might find yourself in a rather  _ in _ convenient situation," she warned him, quite rightly.

"I know," he said regretfully, "but just wait till tonight, baby."

She leaned into him. "I always look forward to our nights, but let's enjoy this special day first."

He kissed her again, quickly this time, and they returned to the front room together. He squeezed her bum cheekily just before they entered, and she suppressed a giggle. 

"Right, Victoria, are you ready to open your presents from Nanny Hooper?"

Victoria scrambled off the armchair. "Yes, Mummy."

There were three packages for her, and Sherlock deduced the rectangular one was most likely more clothes, so he said to Molly, "Give that one to Victoria first."  _ Best to get the "boring" stuff out of the way, _ he thought.

Sherlock took his phone out to record. He was correct. Victoria tore off the wrapping paper and opened the box to find, as Sherlock had expected, clothes. It was a dress with shades of pink and pink tights to match.

"Don't like those," said Victoria, pushing at the tights. Sherlock knew she hated it when Molly dressed her in tights.

"But look, Victoria! They match the dress," said Molly, holding up the dress properly. "Isn't the dress pretty?"

Victoria pursed her lips. "Dwess pwetty; those," again she indicated the tights, "yucky."

Molly was obviously not prepared to get into an argument, so she merely picked up the next present and handed it to Victoria. 

Victoria was delighted to find a set of four different jigsaw puzzles for Peppa Pig. Each puzzle had a different amount of pieces. "Puzzles!" said Victoria with much more enthusiasm than she had displayed for her clothes.

When she opened the third and final package, Sherlock had to grin at his daughter's exclamation. "Phone! Like Mummy and Daddy!"

It did indeed look like an iPhone, though it was obviously a toy. At least this was the kind of phone Victoria could recognise as such.

"It's not exactly like Daddy and Mummy's, darling," said Ruth. "But you can press the buttons and it will help you learn your numbers and different words and all kinds of things."

Victoria looked slightly disappointed, but Molly said quickly, "Why don’t you help with Christina's presents now?"

At Victoria's nod of agreement, Molly gently lifted Christina from Martha's lap, where she had once again been almost asleep. 

_ Just as well we have a reason to keep her awake, _ Sherlock thought to himself. He didn't relish the idea of his daughter sleeping so much that she wouldn't settle to sleep tonight when he was ready for some alone time with his wife.

Molly obviously knew to go for the rectangular package first, which contained a white long-sleeved top with purple shorts and a pair of white tights, presumably to wear beneath. Her second gift contained an Aquadoodle Water Doodle Mat, that used special water-filled crayons. These crayons were used to create patterns on the mat that would stay until the water dried.

Sherlock had the feeling Victoria would get more use out of that, at least for now.

The final item was a bath toy, Grandpa Pig's Bath Time Boat. Obviously, Molly had given her mother some gift suggestions. Christina was a little young to enjoy Peppa Pig, but Sherlock was sure she'd enjoy the toy. He recalled Molly saying that when Christina turned one, she would start bathing the girls together. He wondered if Molly would do that tonight, while he was taking his mother-in-law home. 

"Mum, thank you so much," said Molly, and she turned her head in Victoria's direction. "Tell Nanny thank you and give her a hug and kiss," she instructed, and Victoria complied.

Sherlock stopped recording and looked at his watch. His parents would be expecting their FaceTime call right after the queen's Christmas message, which was due to start a few minutes from now, at three o'clock. "Sweetheart, it's nearly time for the queen's Christmas message, so as soon as we get the rubbish cleaned up, we can watch that, then FaceTime my parents."

Molly gathered up the paper and deposited it into one of the now-empty gift bags. "Alright, I'll throw away this paper and perhaps you can figure out where to put the toys for now."

Sherlock nodded and began to create a little order as Molly left the room. All these new toys would certainly keep Victoria and Christina occupied, at least for a little while, he thought with a smile. But he did keep two toys ready for them to play with so they would have something to do while everyone else watched the queen on television. 

So, Victoria had her new phone to play with, and Christina the old-style one. They did make audible sounds, as most toys did, so Sherlock turned on the television, then increased the volume so the noise from the toys would not drown out the Christmas message.

Then he sat on the sofa to await Molly’s return.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, more gifts! Did you smile at Victoria's reaction to clothes? And the tights? My middle daughter especially always detested wearing tights!
> 
> Did you like Victoria's reaction to the old- fashioned phone toy? My sister had one of those as a child, and they are still being sold today, which I find really interesting! Little ones must be so confused!
> 
> I hope you also liked the kitchen conversation between Sherlock and Martha that revealed a little of his pre-series history.
> 
> So, this is the first time I've talked about Victoria and Christina being baptized in their church. I have debated for a long time (literally, years) on whether to ever address this particular topic, aware that there are differing schools of thought on baptism. I hope I do not offend any readers with my choice to talk about infant baptism, and I do not wish to sow discord in the body of Christ as a result. I've purposely kept Sherlock and Molly's church free of denomination because I didn't want to have people turn away from reading due to the way different denominations have differing doctrinal practices. I already lost a lot of Catholic readers (maybe all of them) because some could not get past the less severe Protestant teachings on divorce/remarriage. So please, do not let this cause you to dismiss my whole Christian storyline because of a differing practice of doctrine. 
> 
> The reason I decided to go ahead and say their daughters were baptized is two-fold. The two major religious denominations by far in the UK are Church of England and Catholic (both of which practice infant baptism). I have already shown Sherlock’s parents are C of E, and my feeling is it's likely Molly too was raised in that denomination. At the same time, infant baptism is often casually approached with regard to sponsors/godparents, and I wanted to show that Sherlock and Molly's decisions for godparents were carefully thought out. For them, it was not just a rite of passage, but something important, where they were publicly making a statement that they intended to raise their daughters in the church. Their choice of godparents who were not merely nominal Christians (except for John at the time) who would also also set a Christian example for their children was to exhibit how important that was to them. I do not believe that baptism should be taken lightly either when it is done on infants or on those who choose to be baptized themselves later as a public declaration of faith.
> 
> And a dear friend told me that she had heard a quote by a Christian comedian that I think is quite a good one - "Whether you are sprinkled or dunked, if you don't have Jesus, you're just wet." I think many people assume that the act of baptism (and typically this is people who were baptised as infants), automatically saves them and earns them a place in heaven, so they don't even bother to actually believe what they are being told or follow the practices of the Bible. I will say that I do not believe this at all. I believe that putting your trust in Jesus as Saviour is what gives you the right to enter the kingdom of God and heaven. If you disagree, I respect your decision to do so, but I will not compromise my writing and theology merely to placate the masses. I will continue to write in the way I believe God has called me to write. I realize that for some people, it may be easier to just read stories of people who have no faith, so they can tell themselves "well, it's okay if the characters do sinful things, it's their sin, not mine." If that's what you prefer, good luck to you. Your reading decisions are your own. I would rather my stories dig deeper than the regular entertainment spectrum of reading, even though I know it has cost me readers. Yep, I've been judged for putting too much sex into my stories as well, so I'm used to it by now. My profile sets out my writing style pretty clearly.
> 
> Phew, I was not intending this to be a long exposition. If you are still there, do drop me a comment as a show of support that you want to keep reading my work!


	5. Christmas Evening and Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Christmas meal with family and some cute interaction between the siblings. And then of course, Sherlock and Molly have to end their day as they always do, in one another's arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you'd like to see an image of Sherlock kissing Molly that occurs later in this chapter, check out my story on fanfiction.net where it is the cover photo, done by Elizabeth Robello.

Molly threw away the latest round of wrapping paper in the now overflowing bin, and she tied it off, then put in a new bin liner before making her way back to the front room. She smiled to herself. It was a lovely day so far, and she was looking forward to talking with Sherlock’s parents again after listening to what the queen had to say this year.

Sherlock looked at her when she returned. The television was already turned on, ready to show the message. He patted the seat of the sofa next to him, and she sat, snuggling against him.

The adults watched the message while Victoria and Christina sat on the floor, Victoria pressing various buttons on her musical phone toy, Christina fascinated with the holes for the dial portion of hers.

Molly liked the way the queen referred to Jesus several times and the images that were displayed of people like Captain Tom and young Tony who had been beacons of light in this dark time. 

The queen finished her address with, "Let the light of Christmas, the spirit of selflessness, love, and above all, hope, guide us in the times ahead. It is in that spirit, that I wish you a very happy Christmas." This was followed by the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS choir, standing socially distanced and holding candles as they sang, "Joy to the World," which Molly enjoyed.

After the broadcast ended, Molly's mum let out a sigh. "Oh, I do so love our queen. She is always so elegantly dressed, and calm in her speeches."

"Oh yes, I agree," said Martha. "That purple colour she was wearing with her strings of pearls, she is the essence of grace."

"Well," said Sherlock, who Molly knew was not interested in talking about what the queen wore, "now it's over, it's time to call my parents."

"I'll get my iPad." Molly retrieved it from where she had placed it out of reach of little fingers earlier after the call with the Watsons.

She set it on the coffee table. "Can we all sit on the sofa, do you think?" she asked, looking dubiously at the width of the sofa.

"Might be a bit of a tight squeeze," responded Sherlock. "I'll just sit on the floor in front of you, Molly. I'll be comfortable enough. You ladies can sit on the sofa."

"Time to call Grandma and Grandpa," Sherlock told Victoria, who came to the sofa happily enough to sit on her grandmother's lap. Christina was tempted with her Pusheen to sit on Martha's lap.

Once everyone was settled, Sherlock pressed the button to call his parents and sat back against Molly's legs. She leaned forwards to put her hands on his shoulders. If they were alone, she would have run her fingers through his curly hair first. 

A few moments later, the call was answered, and an image bounced around until it stabilised, obviously propped up on a surface or using an iPad cover to do it.

Sherlock’s parents peered into the camera. Sherlock's father was wearing the same red bow tie Molly had seen him wear on the two Christmases she had spent with Sherlock visiting his parents in Sussex. Sherlock’s mother, with her customary disdain for wearing "highly commercialised holiday jumpers", as she had told Molly two years earlier, was wearing the soft pink jumper that had been a Christmas present from Sherlock and Molly three years earlier. On it was embroidered in white, "Best Grandma". Molly's lips twitched. Was that supposed to be a subtle reminder that the absent grandma had just as much value? Molly brushed off the errant thought, dismissing it. Her mother-in-law was probably just wearing it with pride because she was excited about "seeing" her granddaughters. 

Molly was under no false illusions that Sherlock's parents were overly interested in seeing Sherlock and herself. Sherlock had complained about that once, but Molly accepted it without a qualm. She knew when the time came for her to be a grandmother, she'd probably be exactly the same. Babies and young children were always going to be the centre of attention. That was just life.

Her thoughts were confirmed when Sherlock's mother said, without even a Merry Christmas, "Oh my, look at those precious babies!"

"Merry Christmas to you too, Mummy," said Sherlock dryly.

"Hi Gwandma and Gwampa," said Victoria, waving at the screen.

Violet Holmes frowned. "I was just about to say that." Then she waved back at Victoria. "Hello darling. Was Father Christmas good to you?"

Victoria nodded. "I got lots'n'lots of pwesents."

"Say thank you to Grandma and Grandpa for the presents you got from them, Victoria," said Molly, looking at her daughter. Then she added, "And thank you for Christina's gifts and the wonderful double pushchair as well. That will really come in handy when the weather is warmer."

"Thank you, Gwandma and Gwampa."

Molly's mother-in-law beamed. "You're welcome, I just wish we could have been there in person." She reached inside her jumper and pulled out the birthstone necklace. "Thank you also for this lovely gift and the family photo."

"You're welcome," said Sherlock. "Did you have a chance to listen to the  _ Hallelujah Chorus _ in which Molly and I participated ?"

"It was lovely."

"Excellent," said Sherlock’s father at the same time.

Molly was pleased to hear such enthusiasm in her father-in-law's voice. That meant he'd truly enjoyed it.

They chatted for a few minutes. Sherlock’s parents had already spoken to Mycroft. Apparently he, Elizabeth and Mark were having a quiet Christmas, but they had been joined by Elizabeth's son and daughter-in-law, as originally planned.

"We are having a significantly down-sized Christmas this year," said Violet, with a note of sadness. "Seeing as it is just the two of us, I bought a small chicken, rather than having turkey."

"We down-sized too, once we knew you wouldn't be able to come," admitted Molly, feeling her own pang of sorrow as well. "I had been planning to have a whole turkey, but now we are only having a turkey crown." She paused, then said, "Speaking of which, I guess I need to get that turkey into the oven."

"I'm glad we had the chance to talk today. Ruth, Martha, good to talk with you as well," said Sherlock's mother.

A few more words were exchanged, and waves of goodbye, then Sherlock pressed the End button on the screen.

"Can I help you with the dinner preparations, Molly?" asked Molly’s mum.

Martha answered before Molly had a chance to speak, and her voice was firm. "Ruth, you just stay here and enjoy spending time with your granddaughters. Molly and I will take care of getting dinner ready."

Molly gave Martha a grateful look. She really did need an extra pair of hands to deal with the dinner preparations, and she had been prepared to commandeer Sherlock's help so that her mother could spend more time with Victoria and Christina. She also hadn't wanted to presume that Martha would help, so she was pleased to have the assistance of someone who would be much more competent in the kitchen than Sherlock.

In the kitchen, Molly quickly plaited her hair to the side to keep it out of her face as she worked. She prepared the turkey for the oven while Martha set about cutting up the vegetables to be roasted on the second rack of the one oven. The other oven would be used to reheat the Brussels sprouts dish and the stuffing. Once again, Molly reflected on how convenient it was to have two ovens.

Molly put the turkey in the oven and took the stuffing and Brussels sprouts out of the fridge to sit for a little while before going into the oven.

She was setting the table when Martha asked, having finished with cutting up the potatoes and other roasting vegetables, "Molly, would you like me to make the Yorkshire puddings? I know your mother-in-law would have made them if she was here."

Molly smiled. "That would be lovely, Martha."

Two hours later, Molly surveyed the laden table in satisfaction. The turkey was roasted perfectly, as were the vegetables. The Brussels sprouts dish looked at least interesting, with the cheese sauce and breadcrumbs mixture that mostly disguised the sprouts from view. The stuffing was hot, and the Yorkshire pudding was almost ready to come out of the oven.

Everyone was sitting at the table, and Molly’s mum said, "This looks absolutely wonderful, Molly!"

"Thanks, Mum. I really couldn't have done it without Martha."

Martha shrugged modestly. "I was glad to help."

"Mum, would you pray a blessing over the meal?" Sherlock and Molly didn't typically pray for every meal, but it was nice to do it on special occasions like this one. God knew they were grateful for His provision.

"Of course, dear." And her mother prayed. "Heavenly Father, you are so good to us. Thank you for the meal you have provided us with today and the hands that prepared it. We pray for all of those who cannot be with their families today, that you will sustain them in this difficult time. We thank you for our safety and pray that it will continue, and that we will soon see an end to this pandemic. May people's hearts turn towards you to understand that even in the darkness, your light shines through. I pray these things in the name of Jesus, Amen."

"Amen," murmured Molly and Sherlock, even Martha.

Sherlock took charge of carving the turkey while Molly prepared plates for Victoria and Christina.

When everyone had been served, it was time to take the Yorkshire puddings out of the oven and add them to plates.

Molly supervised Victoria, who was managing her food quite well, while Sherlock helped Christina with hers.

"Oh, these Brussels sprouts are delicious," declared her mother after a couple minutes of quiet eating. "You'll have to give me the recipe."

"I think they are very good as well," agreed Martha.

Molly had not yet had a bite of hers, and she noticed that Sherlock hadn't either. She had cut up a sprout for Victoria, adding cheese and breadcrumbs to the top. She wasn't very surprised when Victoria took a bite and immediately made a face at the taste of the sprout, "Yucky, Mummy." Nothing could tempt Victoria to eat any more of it, and Molly did not attempt to force her. There was plenty of other food on the plate.

Molly had high hopes for the Brussels sprouts herself. Surely the extra ingredients would help the taste of the sprouts? She took a bite and chewed, savouring the smooth texture of the cheese sauce with the crunchy texture of the breadcrumbs and bacon. The outside of the sprout wasn't bad, she decided. But then she had another bite that incorporated the middle of a sprout and gave an inward sigh. It was a case of what was on the outside not being able to disguise the bitterness of the inside of the miniature cabbage. She forced herself to eat all that was on her plate, surreptitiously keeping an eye on Sherlock as she did so. What would be his reaction?

Sherlock ate some turkey, then some potatoes and stuffing. Finally, he ventured to try the Brussels sprouts. He chewed for a few moments, then swallowed before taking another experimental bite.

"So, what do you think of the Brussels sprouts, honey?" she asked when he had finished the second mouthful. She had the feeling, by the slightly pained expression on his face, that he too had not particularly cared for the experience.

"Well," he hedged, "I very much enjoyed that cheese sauce and the bacon. The breadcrumbs too," he added hastily.

Molly laughed at his attempt at tactfulness. "Don’t worry about sparing my feelings, Sherlock. The outside didn't conceal the bitter taste of the sprouts enough for me either."

"Oh, thank God you don't like it either," he said, and she heard the relief in his voice.

Molly's mother looked surprised. "Oh, I enjoy that rather strong taste."

"Me too," said Martha. "It's these young folks and their sensitive stomachs."

The older women chuckled as Molly and Sherlock exchanged amused glances of their own. "Mum," said Molly, "I'll give you the recipe for these Brussels sprouts on one condition."

"And what's that, dearest?"

"That you never make it when Sherlock and I are around."

Molly had to laugh when Victoria, who had obviously been listening to the conversation, joined in. "Spwouts is yucky," she declared.

"Just as well you didn't even attempt to give any to Christina," commented Sherlock. Molly was glad too. She had decided the potential bitterness might be too much for Christina, who was still getting used to table food, anyway. As it was, this was the first time she'd eaten turkey that was not pureed as part of baby food. Judging by the almost empty plate in front of her, Sherlock had succeeded in feeding it to her, along with the vegetables and a small spoonful of stuffing.

Everyone helped themselves to extra portions of turkey and/or vegetables, and Brussels sprouts in the case of Martha and Molly's mum. Molly felt a deep sense of contentment wash over her, seeing the people she loved enjoying this special meal. She only managed a little extra piece of turkey and a couple roast potatoes, and she felt quite full.

"I think we'll have to let the meal digest a bit before we have the Christmas pudding," remarked Molly's mum, echoing her own thoughts.

"Yes," said Molly, "and that will give me a chance to make some custard to go with the pudding." She and Sherlock were not fond of Christmas pudding either, even with the mixed peel omitted from it, but perhaps the custard would help to make it more palatable, rather than eating it plain as they had done when in Sussex for Christmas with Sherlock's parents.

This time, Sherlock volunteered to help with the cleanup, so Martha and Molly’s mum, albeit reluctantly, took charge of the girls.

"You did well, sweetheart," commented Sherlock, as Molly handed him rinsed plates to put in the dishwasher.

"Thank you. I still wish your parents could've been here, but I think the food was good, well," she smirked at him, "except for the Brussels sprouts." She handed him another plate.

"I tried to like them, I really did," he told her with a smirk of his own. "I guess my taste buds respond favourably to sweeter things, like you."

She gave a happy sigh. "You always say such wonderful things, honey." She planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Remember when you told me I always say such horrible things? I think that was the moment I really understood how easy it could be to hurt a person with words. It might have taken a while to reinvent my behaviour in that regard, but I think I finally succeeded."

"That you did, my love."

They finished the cleanup and rejoined the family.

For the next hour, they listened to Christmas music, courtesy of their Amazon Alexa device once again, and watched Victoria and Christina play with their new toys.

Victoria pushed down the giraffe head of the Tumble Top Spinning and Popping Baby Toy, and Christina watched with fascination as the little balls inside bounced around and the movement against the plastic made a popping noise. 

"Those are balls, Chwisty," said Victoria, pointing at the bouncing, colourful balls. "Say 'ball', Chwisty."

Molly glanced at Sherlock, then at Christina.

Christina didn't respond, but leaned forward to push down the giraffe head herself to make the balls move again when the toy stopped. 

Victoria tried again. "Chwisty, say 'ball'." She put her face close to Christina's and moved her lips deliberately. " _ Ball _ ."

Molly found it amusing how Victoria wanted to teach her sister a new word. She'd tried to do so unsuccessfully with the shapes from her wooden cube.

A few moments passed, then Christina said, "Ba."

Victoria beamed and looked over at her parents. "Chwisty said it, Daddy!"

"Good job, Victoria, and good job, Christina," said Sherlock in response.

They watched the girls play a little longer, and then Molly said, "I'm going to go make the custard now for the Christmas pudding."

"No," said her mother, "Let me do something."

"Mum, you're our guest," protested Molly.

"That doesn’t mean I can't help with anything, dear. If you were visiting me for a meal, wouldn't you insist on helping?"

Molly had to concede her mother was right. "Alright, Mum. Let me at least get the ingredients out for you. Do you need a recipe?"

Her mother smiled and tapped her head. "All up here. I've made many custards over the years."

Molly and her mum went to the kitchen and Molly got out the ingredients and a saucepan, then, at her mother's insistence that she could manage the rest 

herself, Molly returned to the front room.

Christina was sitting on Martha's lap with her Pusheen in hand, and Sherlock, with the sofa occupied, was sitting in an armchair, legs crossed, watching Victoria press buttons on her toy phone.

Victoria suddenly looked up, set down her phone and announced, "Need the loo."

"Come on then," said Molly, still in the doorway to the room. She thought it was funny how Victoria would say "loo" when she needed to make a bowel movement.

"Want Nanny take me," said Victoria, looking over at Martha, and Molly suspected she was feeling a bit jealous that Martha was spending more time with Christina than herself.

"I'll take you," said Molly.

"Want Nanny," persisted Victoria.

"It's okay, Molly. I'll take her," said Martha, gently setting Christina onto the sofa beside her and standing.

Victoria grabbed her hand and pulled Martha out of the room, looking like she needed to go quite urgently.

Molly shook her head in amusement.

Sherlock stood and gestured for Molly to come towards him, which she did.

She was taken off-guard when he grasped both sides of her head and bent down to kiss her.

Her arms went to curl around his neck as she returned the kiss enthusiastically. This time she didn't bother asking why he had wanted to kiss her afterwards, but he enlightened her anyway.

"You have no idea how alluring it is getting those glimpses of leg at the side of your skirt. I don’t know why it is, but for some reason, I find it incredibly sexy." As he had done earlier, he reached a hand downwards to the bare skin of her thigh and caressed it.

Molly giggled. "Well, you do seem to enjoy it when I wear clothes that reveal some things and conceal others."

He gave her a lazy smile. "Perhaps it is because it gives a tantalising glance at what is to come."

He slid his arms around her waist and sat on the armchair again, pulling her onto his lap as he did so.

"Sherlock! Martha will be back any minute!"

"Molly, I highly doubt Martha would be scandalised in seeing you on my lap, or your mother, for that matter. You're my wife, and even if you weren't, I don’t see how it's an issue to want to hold the woman I love."

"I guess so." Molly looked at Christina, to make sure she was still content on the sofa, which she was. Then she rested her head against Sherlock’s chest as he wrapped his arms around her. It had been a while since he'd held her that way.

Martha's only comment when she returned with Victoria was to say, "Oh, don’t you two look cosy?"

Victoria apparently wanted to join her parents, climbing onto Molly’s lap in turn, as Martha resumed her position with Christina.

They were still sitting that way when Molly’s mum returned to the room. "The custard's ready, and I put the Christmas pudding in the microwave to heat it a little. I thought I'd let Sherlock put on the brandy and set it alight." She paused and then said, "Oh, what a lovely picture that makes with the three of you."

Molly smiled and set Victoria down on the floor as she also stood. "Well, let's have our dessert."

They all headed back to the kitchen, where Sherlock did his duty in regard to the Christmas pudding, much to Victoria's open-mouthed surprise at the sight of the Christmas pudding being on fire temporarily.

Molly served the pieces, making sure she gave Sherlock and herself only a small amount of pudding with a much larger serving of custard. It did make a difference, she discovered, a much more satisfying eating experience than that of the Brussels sprouts. For victoria and Christina, she eliminated the pudding entirely. Bowls of nice, sweet custard were good enough.

The rest of the evening flew by, and at nine o'clock, Molly could see that both Victoria and Christina, who had been active all day, were getting sleepy. "I should really give the girls their baths and get them to bed," she said. She looked at her mother. "Mum, I'll give you some leftovers to take home while Sherlock runs the bath for the girls."

"I'll help you," said her mother.

Molly insisted on her mother taking most of the remaining Brussels sprouts with her, leaving just enough for Martha to enjoy more of the dish the following day.

By the time everything was ready in containers, Sherlock had come into the kitchen. "The bath is ready for the girls. Ruth, are you ready for me to take you home?"

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay and rock Christina to sleep?" enquired Molly's mother.

"it's getting late, and I think Christina has had enough activity today that getting to sleep won't be a problem," responded Molly. "But thanks for offering."

"In that case, I'm ready to go, once I give my granddaughters a kiss goodbye," she responded to Sherlock, then looked again at Molly. "This has been such a wonderful day, Molly. Thank you." They exchanged a hug and kiss, and Sherlock too accepted a hug.

Together they returned to the front room.

Molly’s mum kissed her granddaughters. Victoria clung to her. "Don’t go, Nanny!"

Molly extracted Victoria's arms gently from around her grandmother's legs. "Daddy has to take Nanny home now, and you and your sister have to have a bath and go to bed. Remember how I told you that when Christina turned one, she could have her bath with you?"

Fortunately, this was enough to change Victoria's trembling lower lip into a smile of delight. "Bath with Chwisty?"

"Yes, darling."

"Okay." She looked up at Molly’s mother. "Love you, Nanny."

Molly's mum ruffled her hair. "Love you too."

When Sherlock had left with Molly’s mum, Martha asked, "Can I help with bathing the girls?"

"If you can just get a clean pair of knickers and Victoria's pyjamas from her bed, and Christina's sleepsuit from her cot, that would be great," said Molly, gathering up a clean nappy from the changing unit to take upstairs, before she lifted Christina into her arms. She knew it would be too difficult on Martha's knees to attempt the kneeling required for giving the girls a bath. This way, Martha could feel useful without her health being compromised.

Molly got Victoria undressed for her bath and helped her into it, complete with the bubbles Sherlock had added and rubber duckies for entertainment. Martha brought in the nightwear as Molly was taking off Christina's, thankfully unsoiled, nappy.

"Thanks, Martha," Molly said as she eased Christina into the tub in front of Victoria for the first time.

Martha looked on for a few moments as Christina, unused to this experience, looked around her, then seemed content. The water temperature was just right for comfort.

Victoria bent forward to pull Christina back towards her and hug her. "Chwisty like bath?" she asked. "Here." She handed her sister a rubber ducky.

Molly smiled and wished she had waited so Sherlock could record this first bath together.

"Oh, that is so sweet!" said Martha. "I think I'm going to head on up to bed now, though. It's been a long day." She gave a little chuckle. "I didn't get in my usual afternoon nap in the armchair."

Molly laughed as well as she picked up a flannel with which to begin washing the girls. "Thanks so much for your help today, Martha. I really couldn’t have done it without you." She squeezed some jasmine and lavender hair and body wash onto the fiannel. It was such a lovely scent, she thought.

"Of course you could have, dear," countered Martha, "but I'm glad you didn't have to. It was quite the loveliest Christmas I've had in many years." Her voice sounded a little sorrowful as she added, "Now that my sister is gone, I wouldn't have been able to see her anyway, and with nobody living at Baker Street anymore, it could have been a very lonely Christmas for me."

Martha's words made Molly decide right then that Martha would always be included in any family celebration, wherever it might be. She glanced up at Martha. "You'll always be welcome with us, Martha. I hope you know that."

Martha looked slightly misty-eyed. "I do know that, Molly, and thank you. Good night."

"Good night, and sleep well," said Molly.

"Night night, Nanny," said Victoria, waving.

"Night night, loveys," responded Martha, bending down just enough to drop kisses to the heads of the girls.

Molly continued to give the girls their bath, washing their hair as well. She got Christina out first, of course, rubbing her little body down and getting her into her sleepsuit, noting that Christina's eyes were barely staying open as she ran a little comb quickly through Christina's hair. She set Christina onto the floor and helped Victoria out of the bath, then pulled the plug to drain the water.

After drying Victoria's body and hair, Molly helped her into her pyjamas and brushed her hair as well. "If you get into bed, I'll put your sister in her cot, and then Mummy will read you a story," she said, and Victoria nodded, looking rather sleepy herself now.

Molly lifted Christina to her hip and accompanied Victoria to her room, turning on the light and pulling back the duvet for her daughter, helping her get into bed .

Molly left the room to put Christina to bed. She kissed Christina and settled her into the cot. Cristina let out barely a whimper, turning onto her side as usual and closing her eyes.

Molly returned to Victoria's room, ready to read a story, only to find her daughter already asleep. Usually Victoria could not sleep without Baby Rose, so Molly knew Victoria had been very tired.

She went downstairs to retrieve Baby Rose and took the doll, placing her next to Victoria in case she woke during the night, then turned off the light so only the night light cast a dim glow. She left the room, closing the door behind her.

Molly went into the bathroom and brushed her teeth, then looked at her watch. She contemplated whether to get undressed, but decided against it. Sherlock had enjoyed her outfit. She might as well let him be the one to remove it. 

Instead, she sat on the bed with her reading glasses on and read her devotion. Sherlock could always read it later.

She had just finished when she heard the sound of the front door opening and knew he was home. 

Molly put the devotional and reading glasses away, listening for Sherlock. 

She heard him coming up the stairs a couple minutes later.

"Your mother is safely back at home," he announced as he entered the bedroom. "I also turned off the Christmas tree lights." He gave her a look of approval. "I was going to ask you not to get undressed yet. Guess we were on the same wavelength."

She stood and walked towards him. "Well, I didn't want to deny you the opportunity to undress me," she told him, reaching up to put her arms around his neck and pull his head down to her level.

"Let me just go and brush my teeth first," he said, putting a hand to his chin. "I'd better shave as well. I'm getting a five o'clock shadow."

Molly released him with a sigh. So much for spontaneity.

He traced her lower lip with his thumb. "Don’t pout, love, I want our night to end well, and I'd rather that include me smelling minty fresh and not giving your beautiful skin any brush burn from my stubble."

She couldn’t help grinning at that. "Alright then, I'll see you soon."

He left the room and Molly positioned herself on the bed so her body was angled towards the door, and the split in her skirt revealed her leg.

She'd left room for Sherlock to join her onthe bed, and he did not disappoint her when he returned and climbed onto the bed to face her, kicking off his shoes first.

His hand immediately went to her bared leg, stroking down it briefly before he pressed his body close and kissed her passionately.

They took their time, just enjoying their closeness. Sherlock took her hair out of its plait first, threading his fingers through the waves created by it, then kissed her again. They slowly removed each other's clothes, one article at a time, kissing bared flesh, skimming hands along sensitive areas, allowing their passion to grow, along with those touches. Molly was pleased to note that Sherlock was wearing his new boxers too. She traced a hand along the lines of the flag, pausing at a certain central area, until he nipped at her ear and growled into it, "Just finish undressing me already, Molly."

She giggled and complied, allowing him to do the same with her knickers so their bodies could connect without the impediment of clothing.

"So," Sherlock said, when Molly was lying blissfully sated as usual in his arms, and they were waiting for their breathing to regulate, "Martha's planning on leaving us. When did you become aware of this?"

Molly shifted slightly to look up at him. "When we were in the kitchen yesterday as I was baking Christina's birthday cake and she was getting the Brussels sprouts ready to roast them."

"I hope you told her she shouldn't feel like she has to leave, even after she has had her vaccinations," he said.

"Of course I did, but she was insistent. She misses her independence, she told me."

He nodded, his hand absently stroking Molly’s shoulder. "I guess I’m not surprised. She's always enjoyed being able to do what she wants, when she wants. I'll miss her." Then he gave Molly a tender smile. "But, if I’m honest, I'll also be glad to have just you and the girls to worry about again, and to not have to be quite as circumspect in my behaviour. I've had to restrain myself from kissing you the way I'd like on many occasions, just so I don’t appear to be still completely besotted with you."

Molly was a little surprised at that. "But you  _ do _ kiss me in front of Martha, quite frequently."

He smirked. "Yes, but I have to keep my hands to myself, rather than roaming your body as I'd like to do. Our daughters would not notice such things, but Martha would. I think I have behaved very well, come to think of it. I’m ready to behave very  _ badly _ again with you."

She giggled again, drawing her hand lightly along his shoulder and down his arm. "I love you so much, Sherlock."

“Love you too.” He bent his head to kiss her, a slow, lingering one that made her stomach clench. "You know, Molly," he said in his deepest, most thrilling tone, "it has been a while since we've made love twice in a short period of time, and I think I could be ready for a second round to celebrate this Christmas. Are you agreeable to it?" His hand moved tantalisingly to caress her breast.

Her own voice was a little breathless as she responded to this wonderful man for whom she had such an abiding love. "I think I could be persuaded."

Oh yes, Sherlock could be very persuasive.

It may not have been the Christmas she had expected, but it had been a special one, nonetheless, and she had so much to be thankful for.

_ Thank you God, for this wonderful life you've given me, _ she thought to herself some time later, just before she closed her eyes and went to sleep in her husband's loving arms.

.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the verdict is in - Brussels sprouts in any way, shape or form? No thank you! As I said in a previous chapter, this reaction reflects my own family's reaction to the dish when I made it. Yes, I am a hands-on researcher! I found there was simply no way to disguise the bitterness of the sprouts. It kind of makes me think about people. There are people out there who mask their true personality behind a layer of sweetness and affability, but beneath, they are bitter and unpleasant.
> 
> So, are you a fan of Brussels sprouts, or are you of the same opinion as Sherlock and Molly (and Victoria)?
> 
> Did you enjoy the Victoria/Christina interaction? I love writing sibling interaction!
> 
> I know 2020 has been a tough year for the whole world, and that there is so much fear. I encourage you to look to God for your strength. In this story, I hope you managed to see that despite the outside world circumstances, life goes on, adjustments can be made, and you can still enjoy having your family around. The world is in turmoil right now, but I am not afraid. I believe God is in control. May His peace be upon you all, dear readers.
> 
> If you enjoyed this story and it helped to lift your spirits, I encourage you to do the same with mine by leaving your feedback about it. I ask questions at the end of each chapter to give readers something to respond to, in case they don’t know what to say.
> 
> I have a New Year's Eve follow-up story that I will be publishing on fanfiction.net. Let me know if you want to see it here. Otherwise, I hope to see perhaps some new people over there reading my stories.

**Author's Note:**

> So, I thought this would be a decent place to end the chapter.
> 
> I know my Christmas stories aren't the angsty ones of writers who use the Christmas theme to bring Sherlock and Molly together, but I hope you still enjoy the married Sherlolly fluff and family time I put into my Christmas stories, as well as their continuing romance even after more than three years of being married.
> 
> So, are you the kind of person who finds it difficult to receive kindness from others? Someone once told me that when you deny another person the opportunity to show you kindness by insisting you do everything yourself, you are actually denying them the chance to receive the blessing of feeling good about doing something kind. I’ve never forgotten that. 
> 
> Don't forget to leave a comment. Merry Christmas!


End file.
